Tag Archives: Oscar

Film Reviews

Film Review: Godzilla Minus One (2023)

STORY

When Japan is close to the Second World War, a giant reptilian monster shows up on one of the islands. Shikishima, a former kamikaze pilot, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing the horrors of the bloodshed it created that day. That giant monster is called Godzilla.

REVIEW

Godzilla Minus One is the first live-action Godzilla film from Japanese production and distribution company Toho since Shin Godzilla in 2016 and thirty-third overall. And has no connection with the Monsterverse of the Legendary Pictures that mostly involves Godzilla and Kong.

Although, Monsterverse has done justice and we finally got to see the frightening existence of Godzilla in the most suitable setup of the universe. But I think this was about time that Godzilla must had an equally competitive narration and setting in its Japanese roots. But golly! Godzilla Minus One made a Godzilla film much better than the Monsterverse.

No wonder how spectacular are visual effects in Monsterverse but I have been criticizing this universe for years that the human factor of this universe has always looked dragged in such an amazing Kaiju-action showdown. Monsterverse is now five films and ten years old but the human writing still has not grabbed or captivated any interest. The human angle in this universe has been annoying.

But Godzilla Minus One has a potential story where Godzilla itself is second to humans. This is about an already struggling and suffering post-World War Japan getting further nuked by this scary colossus. The Japanese are not ready for this kind of wrath and the scientists and military are jointly devising an ultimate plan to bring it down. And then there is poor Shikishima who already was suffering from PTSD given by Godzilla and now has distanced his close company Noriko from him by the atomic breath.

I say close company for Noriko because in all honesty, her relation with Shikishima was confusing. They were neither friends nor developed any romanticism. I think with so much destruction on their world to suffer, they were the need of the hour for each other and held tremendous respect. But one of the rare minuses of the film is that Noriko survived with injuries on her right eye and the right arm. How is that even possible? But wait. What is that black thing revealing on her neck?

The biggest accomplishment of Godzilla Minus One is winning the Oscar for the Best Visual Effects becoming the first Japanese film to win this particular award and the first Godzilla film ever to win an Oscar. Imagine a five-film Monsterverse not winning in ten years but the Japanese team of VFX winning it one go. You can realize how superior was the work on Godzilla and the entire visual creation that included blasts and destructions.

This Godzilla looks more terrific and terrifying than the one in America. Observe the work on the lightning spikes and when the flesh of Godzilla regenerates. The only plus of the American Godzilla over the Japanese one is that the former easily has the best roar in the films than the latter.

CLOSING REMARKS

I think Godzilla Minus One is an innovative arc of storytelling where a gripping emotional storyline is set in a war-torn Japan and has a strong reliability on a very sound visual effects based on a fiction, a legend, a monster. The film has deep human affection, a trauma of war and a larger-than-life shocking incident. I do not believe a monster story has ever been taken so seriously with a quality filmmaking.

Remember, this is a Japanese monster film that reached the global audience especially the West. The popularity of the film was enormous. And Japan nailed that in a comparatively extremely low budget for a VFX-bound action film. It is a win for the monstertainment cinema and the audience.

RATING 8.7/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Poor Things (2023)

STORY & REVIEW

Resurrected by the scientist Dr. Baxter, Bella cruises with a lawyer Duncan across the continents for an adventure seeking liberation.

‘Poor Things‘ is, basically, a novel by Alasdair Gray that he wrote back in 1992. So it is the work of literature that is turned into drama and is technically the most vibrant source of a complex narration. Director Yorgos Lanthimos returns with his usual absurdist form of science-fiction.

‘Poor Things’ is Alice in a Neverland in a kaleidoscopic dream. I tried to make sense from the fictional university of this wonderful cinema but I slipped to nonsense in the name of creativity and Yorgos’ artistry.

In a very advanced Victorian London, Dr. Baxter tests Bella who was pregnant and committed suicide. He brings her back from the dead and gives her her own fetus’s mind by replacing her brain with that of her fetus. With time, Bella shows incredible mental progress. She gets engaged with Dr. Baxter’s assistant Max but after one meeting with the lawyer Duncan, she runs away on a long adventure where she breathes a new world. But during all this, she has no knowledge about what actually happened with her.

The film, with all its mind-blowing technical excellence, mesmerizes me. But the story provokes me to question what exactly is the message of the film. Is it just entertainment? Must I stay disconnected with such an unusual enchantment of a bizarre world?

Unsure about what the novelist or the director wanted with the subject. Maybe we all are on the same page but I think that ‘Poor Things’ has lifted a woman from the floor and showed a harsh reality about how the woman is expected or hoped to exist in the world order. Almost all the men were cruel and unkind to woman. Every man Bella trusted, broke her heart. Dr. Baxter brought her back to life but as a subject. Max had an affection but didn’t reveal the secret of her existence. Duncan used her for pleasure and regretted when he realized what she was. Husband Alfie was a sadist who imprisoned her.

As Bella seeks freedom but on her own terms, ‘Poor Things’ emphasizes on social inequalities. When Duncan loses all his money because of Bella and has no place to live, she sell her soul to repay him. Does he accept? No. When Bella presses for choosing her customers on her own terms, she is told that she is being an idealist but she must give in to the demands of the world. The hard line by her owner is that “Some men enjoy that you do not like it”. Bella’s body is squeezed for pleasure by mostly old men who come in all sizes.

I think ‘Poor Things’ lost the grip in the middle. Particularly, when she joined the brothel. Too much time was stretched over her experience with the customers. I get the point of dramatizing all this but twenty minutes is awful stretch. The story was moving nowhere at this point.

EMMA STONE

Emma Stone stole the show as Bella. The entire body language and facial expressions were terrific. With the brain of a child in an adult woman’s body, Emma left no space in the character. The behavioral attitude was so spot on. Just watch her performance when Bella experiments her first sense of pleasure on the table. When she gets excited over a piece of music in the party and dances wildly. Or when she winks Duncan. Or when she gets furious with the doctor. Or receives the doctor excitedly. Clearly looks to be Emma Stone’s most enthralling performance to date, she was the perfect candidate to win the Oscar for the Best Actress.

CLOSING REMARKS

Poor Things has a storytelling in aesthetics that envisions me if Robert Eggars and Tim Burton had a brunch one day and decided to draw the pictures and set a sequence of the drawings into a story. The visual design of the film is spectacle.

I think ‘Poor Things’ has conveyed the message in a Yorgos way. Even the absurd humor has a strange excitement. I recommend the audience of the abstract and surreal cinema to watch ‘Poor Things’.

RATING 8.5/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

STORY

Set in the 1920s Oklahoma, Mollie Kyle, a member of the Osage Nation, marries in the White Catholic family of William Hale to his nephew Ernest Burkhart, a WWI veteran who recently moved back to the state. William Hale is a reserve deputy sheriff for Fairfax who built a fortune by stealing the Osage people’s wealth through insurance fraud. With the marriage follows a series of murders of her family and the members of the Osage Nation. Mollie faces a difficult time in seeking justice as she raises her doubts about William Hale.

INTRODUCTION

‘Killers of the Flower Moon‘ is based on David Gran‘s non-fiction novel by the same title. Osage Nation is one of the old American tribes of the Great Plains. In the 19th century, these people were forced to relinquish most of their remaining ancestral homelands and were relocated to Pawhuska, Oklahoma. In the early 20th century, the oil was discovered on their land and they had retained mineral rights on their reservation. So that made them rich. Now what kind of Americans will not like these Native Americans becoming rich? Of course, White Americans. I am not offending at all, this is one of the tragic chapters of the American history.

So what William Hale does with them is mastermind a heinous spate of killings with the help of his nephews Ernest and Byron by targeting wealthy Osage people including Mollie’s family. This film indicates that the American men were marrying wealthy Osage women for money.

A DIRECTOR EFFORT

It is a 3 hours and 28 minutes film (206 minutes) making it one of the longest films ever made in the modern age of the American film industry. Plus, the film is deep slow so it is painfully a killer. But if you go with the flow and understand the artistic image of the film, it will not trouble you.

Martin Scorsese returns on the director chair. So there is no question about the craft and the visual artistry that still holds the distinction about shooting the best out of the story.

Take a look at the raw attraction of a busy Oklahoma street where Ernest meets Mollie the first time. Scorsese glimpses many kinds of business runs and hence shooting it so meticulous. Was there a need? After all, the whole shot was about Ernest meeting Molly, that is it. But if you understand the heart of the drama, all these forces attracts and gives you a wonderful image of one cinematic catch rolling in the camera.

Scorsese film-making philosophy always gives value to classic zooming shots on the characters. It is the artistic way of engaging the audience into a visual attraction like Ernest coming out of train. A one-shot of Hale’s household before Lizzie sees an owl. Or Ernest and Mollie setting up to bed only to be disturbed by a shocking bomb blast nearby. A sudden outburst in the court hall when Hale’s attorney demands to confer privately with Ernest. These are a few examples in the film that set the precise tone for dramatizing a shot.

Even after 50 years, Scorsese and Spielberg are the only two directors whose old-school film-making still maintains that directional substance and the finest craft work.

RADIO DRAMA SCENE

The story was concluding at much anticipation until some radio drama at a theater chose to reveal the aftermath. There can be several theories and opinions about the film concluding with this scene instead of those characters. The first thing is, the story would have never ended with whatever fate Ernest, Hale, and Mollie met. Secondly, if the fate of the three was assumed to depict in the film, would have taken an extra hour for sure. And the film had already passed three and a half hours. So did the film stretch way too long to not give a better conclusion?

ROTH, ROBBIE & SCHOONMAKER

To add the value of complimenting this film, I feel it is important to mention a few names whose contribution excelled the film. If Eric Roth is screenwriting a film, you must know that he has done a huge favor on those who are expecting to watch a quality film. You can observe a tremendous balance in the writing of three parts of the story.

One of the aspects of Scorsese films that augments the continuity of the story is the background score. And Robbie Robertson once again has been a pillar to a Scorsese film but he did this favor for Scorsese the last time because before the release of the film, Robbie Robertson passed away. There are pieces in the film that will tune your eardrums. I liked Robbie’s music when the Osage people discover oil and also when Hale burns down his own ranch.

But the one technical quality that always impresses me about a Scorsese film including this, is the editing job. Thelma Schoonmaker is one of the major reasons of Scorsese legacy whose almost entire editing career is built on Scorsese films and also most of Scorsese’s films are edited by her.

I don’t know how big was ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ if the final cut was 3 hours and 28 minutes. So it is more difficult to edit the lengthy films because all those scenes must be meaningful for the audience before it bores them and ignite criticism. Hardly do I believe the film wasted any resource. Like I wrote before, the film to me was slow but it didn’t trouble because I went with the flow of the film.

To mention a few, observe the court scene, or when Anna fights Byron, or when Ernest goes out to check which house was bombed.

DE NIRO/DICAPRIO

Easily the most anticipated factor about the film is the first collaboration of Martin Scorsese’s two favorite lead actors in 30 years, Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. This was DiCaprio’s sixth film with Scorsese and De Niro’s tenth. But both actors never worked together in a feature film directed by Scorsese.

It was worth a wait as both were terrific in their roles. Their togetherness was not exaggerated but respectfully stuck to the narrative and leveled their roles. DiCaprio was Hale’s nephew Ernest who was stuck in the line of fire melting in the flames of injustice between Hale’s fraudulent cruelty and Mollie’s slavery to time. Almost every of their conversations were interesting and the shots were well written be it their argument after Roan’s killing, or Hale asking Ernest to sign, or when Ernest informs Hale that he will testify, or Hale beating Ernest at the lodge, and many more.

LILY GLADSTONE

This is my first experience of watching Lily Gladstone and I don’t believe she has worked that often. She is still new to the industry. As far as her performance is concerned, she did her role pretty well without a doubt but it wasn’t an award-winning presser at all. She was in intense race for Best Actress with Emma Stone for ‘Poor Things‘ in almost all award functions. I am yet to watch Poor Things but I didn’t find Lily’s performance as a winner.

Perhaps, the media companies, critics, and journalists have been very sympathetic towards her performance due to what the character suffered and went through extremely difficult times. Plus, people love interesting life and career stories from a non-White background. So that made a strong case and made her the first Native American to be nominated for the Best Actress at the Oscar.

CLOSING REMARKS

I don’t think if Scorsese can make a bad film but for a director like him, if I opine that ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ cannot be considered one of his finest works or say not his top 10 film at all, I assume I am not insulting him at all. That is the magnitude of a bar he has set for himself from the others. A strong casting and excellent technical work.

With a story involving or about Native Americans, it truly is the best drama film in years or perhaps this decade. A tragic drama and a sorry-tale about a sickening greed and killing. A brave subject to raise, the Native American injustice, a dark chapter of the old America.

RATING 8.6/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: American Fiction (2023)

STORY

After feeling immensely annoyed with the majority of book readers showing more fondness towards literary stereotypes from the Black writers, a highly intelligent Black author Monk chooses to stain his writing craft by writing a satirical novel from a different name, so he can indirectly drop his anger towards the authors and publishers. After submitting the book, the agent breaks the news to Monk that the book shockingly received strong praise from the publishers.

REVIEW

Now this is some story that grabs my undivided attention. Because ‘American Fiction‘ is funny, emotional, thought-provoking as well as a commercial satire. The film is adapted from Percival Everett’s novel ‘Erasure’.

What impresses me the most is in the times when the Black voice in America is listened by the highest number of listeners in 405 years, there is this Black upper-class author who prefers to write outstanding novels with fully developed characters and rich language over gang war, police brutality, mistreatment and injustice filled with profane language.

No I am not denying the Black injustice. I just wrote 405 years above, not 248. During the course of bringing the Black revolution, if anyone notices about Black entertainment and literature, almost every plot or context has similar elements and narrative. If you are watching a Black sitcom, film, or a documentary, you have already predicted what the story will offer you. Monk is one of us, who wants to initiate or innovate a new Black idea to be remembered for. Monk is like us, sick of repeated content and willing to offer something new, something fresh.

But the colossal hammering in the reading culture of the new age is that your choices and judgement have gone political. The Black person is predicted and assumed to be following the same footsteps and you have a weird interest for reading or listening to the same Black story again and again.

Think from Monk’s perspective, it is okay if you are the reader but chooses not to read any of Monk’s books but someone else. But if you are Monk, and publishing your own novels is your bread and butter as well as your legacy, what will you do if no one is willing to buy your book despite being brilliant and being million times better than those soulless books.

So what amused me in the Oscar-winning screenplay of this film is that Monk’s irritation grew very well. Monk wanted to pull the nerves of the publishers by writing and mocking a stereotypical literature but on the contrary, they loved the book. Offered a kind of money he never earned. He got a film to adapt that book. If that wasn’t enough, the book was nominated for the best-seller. People like Monk either try to fit the bill or somehow distinguish their own identity while existing amongst the stereotypes.

But being different and changing the era is not for everyone. Monk comes from a dysfunctional family. His old woman has Alzheimer’s and his sister Lisa was taking care of her until she passed away. Their estranged brother Cliff is divorced and is interested in men. The emotional relation of the household is complex and tries to move on from the tragedy. So Monk’s shoulders are suddenly burdened as well as rusted with the shocking progress of the book.

DIRECTION

Not only the screenplay and the dialogues are rich, the direction equally serves the purpose without exaggerating the social mockery. And thanks to Jeffrey Wright for understanding the brain behind Monk’s character and adopting it like fashion. When Monk is advised by his agent to adopt a persona of a convict to sell his fiction, you will observe Jeffrey not giving in too much of a convict while walking inside the restaurant meeting the film producer. Naturally, no serious person can go 360 and behave completely opposite in the first go as many films dramatize the character in a situational comedy. You can observe how Monk is so much done playing a double.

I absolutely liked that dialogue, “The Dumber I Behave, The Richer I Get”. No offense, isn’t that one of the ugliest and the harshest truths in many cases.

This is my first experience with Cord Jefferson as a director. He is basically a writer and my only experience about his writing before was Watchmen. So watching American Fiction was a must. And I like the directors being sincere with their art. Monk meeting his sister and spending minutes about their sibling-hood had a purpose. Cord wanted the audience to go through the process about how losing someone in the family feels like. After spending two minutes of their conversation at the beach, she suddenly suffers the heart attack and passes away.

Talk about the rise of broken language that people now find it more poetic and compelling. Jeffrey was so good in translating shock and disappointment on his face when he listens to fan-favorite author Sintara Golden reading an excerpt of her new release. This is followed by a standing ovation and Monk is frozen with the reception. Yes I understand that this language is common amongst the Black American middle and lower class communities but the point is that Monk wanted the Black literature inform the world that Black people are more than this.

SCENES

Without a doubt, the best scene of the film was Monk writing that book and its characters acting on his lines in the same room. Assumed to be a serious scene, what follows is the exaggeration of slang dialogues pressing the exact objection Monk use to make. I have no knowledge if the author writing the book and the story itself were shot in the same frame in any film or a TV show before but I found this very creative.

Another thoughtful scene was Monk discovering that Sintara, about whom he opined to have similar traits of other Black writers writing literary stereotypes, shared his literary views. While they argue on the table, Sintara and Monk brings the best out of the conflict of interests and we the audience view their perspective in a different dimension. And guess what, both are right in their argument.

CLOSING REMARKS

F_03320_R
Erika Alexander stars as Coraline and Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison
in writer/director Cord Jefferson’s
AMERICAN FICTION
An Orion Pictures Release
Photo credit: Claire Folger
© 2023 Orion Releasing LLC. All Rights Reserved.

I think it is unjust to compete ‘American Fiction’ with other magnificent films of 2023. In fact, ‘American Fiction’ and ‘The Holdovers‘ have neither competition nor comparison. Until now, I sense these are the best films with a genuine drama produced with the finest quality of art.

American Fiction make me walk through a pensive mood where opinions are mustard, anger is silent, sincerity is ravaged, and books are colored. Bibliophiles and those who love watching a quality dramedy must consider watching American Fiction.

RATING 8.7/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: The Holdovers (2023)

STORY

In 1970, Professor Paul Hunham of the New England boarding school, Barton Academy, is tasked to babysit five students during the Christmas break. Four of them luckily leave on a ski trip when they get permission from their parents but Angus Tully can’t get it. So he is bound to stay under Hunham’s supervision. In the coming days, Hunham and Tully form an unlikely bond and develop an understanding.

REVIEW

Alexander Payne returns to the director chair to give us a dramatic sketch of a bizarre situation that revolves around three characters. Mary Lamb (played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph) supervises the cafeteria of the school and has recently lost her son in the Vietnam War. The melancholy is fresh and is unable to move on. Angus Tully (played by debutant Dominic Sessa) is a bad news and jeopardizes his school life. The emotional tragedy is that he was in delusion to travel to Saint Kitts with his family but his mother left him to go honeymoon with her new husband.

And a very sorry figure of Professor Hunham (played by Paul Giamatti) has lived most of his life in this boarding school. The current headmaster was Hunham’s former student so the professional longevity reminds us of Mr. Chips. He is alone, socially awkward, hesitates to connect the world outside the school. He is a grumpy professor who sticks with old-school traditionalism of teaching.

What the director wants us to watch and observe is a beautiful element of emotion that is hidden between the two rocks of Gibraltar. Hunham and Tully are unhappy being together and why not? After all, the Christmas break is here and they are stuck with each other instead of enjoying their holidays with their loved ones. But Hunham is a lonely fellow. Watching Tully enjoying his skating makes him smile. And in that smile, you observe his thoughtful face with lazy eye talking to his life.

And speaking of lazy eye, Paul Giamatti admitted in an interview to Howard Stern that he had to wear a big soft contact lens and was difficult to perform with that.

And it is never comfortable to perform with lens for lazy eye. The concentration becomes very challenging. He was outstanding throughout the film. I do not have much knowledge about Giamatti’s career but this maybe the highlight of his career since John Adams.

There were a few points that distracted my attention while observing. I am confused about a fact that a boarding school that usually maintains discipline, why most of the boys were sporting long hair. I have no knowledge but was sporting long hair in boarding school an acceptable fashion? How come Angus recovered after dislocated shoulder so quickly? It takes around 12 to 16 weeks in full recovery.

WHAT DID I MISS?

Many of you will not like it but I just don’t get it why Da’Vine Joy Randolph is receiving so much critical acclaim and winning several awards. Yes, she was very good but not at all phenomenal. On the contrary, I believe she missed the mark of being wow. I wanted her character to be more broken and shattered. After listening to the music at the party, she is shown crying in the kitchen. I wanted this moment to entwine her resistance and breaking point.

A PROMISING NEWCOMER

Dominic Sessa is the one that impressed me the most. His mannerism and physical performance were splendid. Notice when he dislocates his shoulder and the treatment in the hospital immensely hurts him. That act of suffering was well executed. You may also notice him when he humiliates Teddy. Dominic needs strong backing because we are looking at a promising newcomer.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

HOLDOVERS_FP_00406_R
Dominic Sessa stars as Angus Tully and Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham in director Alexander Payne’s THE HOLDOVERS, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Courtesy of FOCUS FEATURES / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

‘The Holdovers’ is one of the most excellent examples of a well-crafted film-making that is set in the 1970s. I would like to particularly praise the cinematographer Eigil Bryld for making the 1970sh tone of the film so meaningful. The major accomplishment of this film is that it just doesn’t look like if the film was based in that era. ‘The Holdovers’ looks like a lost record of the film history library discovered and released. That’s because Bryld shot the film digitally using an ARRI Alexa camera.

CLOSING REMARKS

The humor was exceptional. I thoroughly enjoyed Tully’s troubles and Hunham’s irritation. I was deeply disconnected in the selection of soundtracks that mostly were folk rocks. The plot-line doesn’t allow to stretch due to a restricted growth in the screenplay. This is why I felt that the second half was quite slow. 133 minutes of the screen-time is too lengthy for such a film.

But overall, I think ‘The Holdovers’ has successfully build the reputation in our emotions. There is a special corner for such a film that tries to bring smile after plenty of disappointments in life.

What the audience of the film needs to observe is three unlikely companions of a particular situation sticking around in line of duty, command, and nature whose lives are melancholic.

‘The Holdovers’ is like a nomad with a caravan and a dog seeking happiness.

RATING 8.4/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Laal Singh Chaddha (2022)

STORY

Laal Singh Chaddha narrates his incredible story on the train to the nearby passengers as he travels to meet the love of his life.

INTRODUCTION

Laal Singh Chaddha is the official adaptation of the Oscar-winning film ‘Forrest Gump‘ with Aamir Khan returning to the silver screen after a gap of four years to play the Indian version of Tom Hanks‘ most memorable and one of Hollywood’s iconic roles ever.

REVIEW

So obviously, considering what ‘Forrest Gump’ means to the audience and the reputation it has built for decades being the darling of the global audience, there was immense pressure on Aamir Khan and the crew to put on a show that gives at least half-decent remake of the original classic. Most regrettably, Laal Singh Chaddha stands nowhere close to an average crafted film, forget about being a remake.

ALIEN KHAN

It is a classic disaster thanks to Aamir Khan that the mighty collapses right from the beginning when he opens his mouth to speak to the passenger on the train. It is no surprise that the center of satisfaction from the film rests on Aamir Khan’s shoulders. What surprises me is the actor, Mr. Perfectionist, who is well-known for his original takes on some interesting characters he has played throughout his career, is attempting to imitate Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump instead of bringing his own method. And in this process, Aamir Khan is neither convincing the audience nor appealing. And this is one of the major reasons for the film’s box-office failure.

When you listen to his Punjabi accent, it clearly sounds that something is not right. Aamir is certainly not the right choice for a Punjabi character and that was visible in Rang de Basanti. And then the younger version of Laal that he acted, it was like watching Aamir in ‘3 Idiots‘ and ‘PK‘. Same facial expressions and performance. And it is disappointing that an actor known for perfectly adjusting himself to the character has given identical performances in not one but three different films. In the younger version, he looked more mentally unstable than he was as a child. Extreme overacting.

WRITING NEXT TO NONSENSE!

The entire continuity questions the credibility of the screenwriting which is second to nonsense. Spreading humor in a drama for average entertainment is acceptable if executed well. But here, I feel as if the director was confused about how to justify the remake and connect the dots. First, he ridiculed India’s historic timeline to settle Laal’s stupendous journey to legacy. Second, he overstretched the plot and suffocated the audience in an awful second half. And third, the entire film looks like a Google translation.

Laal’s childhood highlights India’s state of Emergency under former PM Indira Gandhi, India’s World Cup winning moment occurs minutes later, and then the Anti-Sikh riots in Amritsar. If you have watched the film with active brains, you will realize that these three incidents occurred in different years. The emergency event happened in the mid-70s, India won the World Cup in 1983 and the riots occurred the next year. So how is the young boy Laal Singh Chaddha not growing for approximately eight to nine years? Or if the director is depicting that all three events happened one after the other which is more silly. In both cases, there is a big hole in the writing.

I must mention the supporting character of Bala played by Naga Chaitanya in his Hindi debut. It must have to be the most annoying character of 2022 or maybe of recent years. Playing the original role of Bubba from Forrest Gump, it was sickening to watch him repeat his passion for undergarments and remake scene-to-scene from the original source.

When you remake an original source, the writing demands a re-introduction on a whole new level of presentation expecting that the writer will come up with a thoughtful story adapting from the original idea. But here, Laal Singh Chaddha shows no intention to play a different beat. Besides adjusting Laal’s life story with the Indian side of historical moments, almost every plot development, almost every scene is straight from ‘Forrest Gump’. And this is one of the reasons why the audience disliked the film. The writer made absolutely no effort in coming up with their own idea to revise the whole plot.

WHAT A MISS!

In order to settle Laal’s life story with some historic moments, the film shows how the local boy of Delhi become a megastar in Bollywood with Shah Rukh Khan playing his own role. It was funny that his iconic arms-stretched-out pose was joked to be inspired by Laal. But what I want to complain about is a big miss. Amongst the three major Khans, the two who have never shared the screen as the lead or starred in the same film are Shah Rukh and Aamir. Salman Khan has starred with both of them in the past. And Shah Rukh and Aamir shared the screen for a few seconds in a cameo in Ashutosh Gowariker‘s “Pehla Nasha“. Despite the fact that Aamir Khan is the producer of this film and roped in Shah Rukh to play a cameo, they still didn’t share the same screen. How idiotic! What a miss!

PLUSES

 

Yes, ironically there are a few pluses like Satyajit Pande‘s cinematography and Tanuj Tiku‘s background score. A couple of tracks were good too. The makers raised the issue of domestic abuse well. But the biggest plus of the film that impressed me was Mona Singh who played Laal Singh Chaddha’s mother. She was impressive throughout the film. Watch her, particularly in the scene of the riots.

CLOSING REMARKS

So Laal Singh Chaddha has all the reasons to terribly fail at the box office and disappoint the audience. This has to be Aamir Khan’s worst performance in ages. He needs to become choosy again about the selection of his films because his recent run has been awful. Those who have never watched Forrest Gump can enjoy this translated version.

Was Laal Singh Chaddha that bad to be rejected in India? I don’t think so. We have watched worse Indian films than Laal Singh Chaddha. Then what happened?

I feel there was a particular hate campaign by the Hindu nationalists of the ruling party on a large scale that played its part. Back in 2015, Aamir Khan expressed his insecurity about living in India in one interview. That circulated before the film’s release.

The ruling party pushed its supporters to share more than 200,000 tweets demanding to boycott film with the hashtag ‘Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha’. That flamed severe hatred and due to this reason, Laal Singh Chaddha earned only ₹58.73 crore in India against a production budget of ₹180 crore.

But, if you observe the collections from abroad, those were far better than in India. You will be surprised to know that Laal Singh Chaddha became 2022’s highest-grossing Hindi film at the international box office and earned more than Gangubai Kathiawadi, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, and ruling party’s all-time favorite ‘The Kashmir Files‘.

So yes, more than all the reasons I stated above, the hate campaign was a bigger reason that flopped the film.

RATINGS: 3/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: The Whale (2022)

STORY

Charlie is an English teacher and suffers from morbid obesity. He carries 600 pounds and lives an isolated life. Nearing his death, he wishes to reconnect with his wife and daughter.

INTRODUCTION

‘The Whale‘ is a play written in 2012 by playwright Samuel D. Hunter. It was then dramatized in different theatres and Darren Aronofsky happened to watch one of the productions which made him decide to direct the play as the film with the same title with Samuel as the screenwriter.

So why the inception of ‘The Whale‘ took around ten years? Because Darren was not able to find the right actor who can play such a difficult role until Brendan Fraser.

The actor himself had been struggling for years with health issues and personal losses. And he was looking for the right project that would bring him back into the game. ‘The Whale’ is now the biggest talking point in Fraser’s acting career.

REVIEW

‘The Whale’ is a psychological drama set on Charlie’s last five living days at home. The film has extremely limited characters and only revolves around Charlie’s residence. Therefore, the film has the rich ambiance of a theatrical play. Charlie has a nurse Liz whom he considers his only friend. A visitor from the New Life Church often visits to him for spiritual rebirth but neither he takes interest nor Liz. The core of the drama is centralized on the complex relationship between Charlie and his estranged daughter Ellie.

This film is a huge favor for the audience to understand how the pain of a personal loss deteriorates health. And due to psychological problems, he also suffers from binge-eating disorder (BED). He is an introvert and due to his weight issue, he is highly insecure to socialize with people.

One of the story arcs of the film is his behind-the-door effort for formal conversation with a pizza delivery guy which was interesting. Here, Charlie is depicted to have tried to socialize after he never showed up at the door to receive pizzas. During the online classes, he switches his webcam off. So the detailing of his behavioral attitude will grow on the audience.

BRENDAN FRASER

Something that I never expected from Brendan Fraser was him to be that good. I know, he is a good actor and had been trying to raise the bar of his performance and fame to be remembered. But being so magnificent was out of line. It is not easy to sit your ass six hours a day and wear nearly 300 pounds of prosthetics every day shooting with that emotional accuracy and acting consistency.

One can rub off the claim that it is just the support of prosthetics that makes his performance look legit. That is not the case. Watch how he grunts in pain when he syllabically reads the sentences. Watch him in the last sequence when he confesses while inhaling laboriously and then cries in pain. And the most heartbreaking was when he begs Mary and says “I need to know that I have done one thing right in my life”. Those are not prosthetics, those are gems of human emotions superbly performed.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO…

Academy Award for Best Actor? Honestly, it is a tie between him and Austin Butler for Elvis. Both are magnificent performances for two entirely different roles. One cannot say that one of them bettered the other at all. For the first time at the Oscars, I would love to observe the joint Best Actor awards. The only way that will do justice.

CLOSING REMARKS

‘The Whale’ is a tragic tale that will depress and kill you from the inside. The reality behind feeling better after reading the Moby-Dick essay is the new parallel of loving someone. Almost the entire review has been about Brendan Fraser because that is the reality. It is his presence and the story is fully centered around his character. Watch the performance of a lifetime.

RATING: 7.5/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Babylon (2022)

STORY

In 1926, a Mexican immigrant Manuel ‘Manny’ Torres gets involved with Nellie LaRoy in a wild crazy party run by a film studio executive. Soon, Manny gets a job in the studio and Nellie becomes a star. But fates begin to change when the golden silence meets its voice and the pictures go talkie.

REVIEW

Babylon is a time traveler to America where the booming period of the silent era was soon meeting its end. By that time, many actors and filmmakers had found success and earned a lot of money because watching silent films across America was still fresh. I am talking about feature films in America that began in 1915 when ‘The Birth of a Nation‘ was released.

So this film is not based on a real-life event but is inspired by a few stories of that period. Director Damien Chazelle briefed the audience and puzzled into a story. The purpose is to show that many successful artists and production companies of the silent era couldn’t make it and got liquidated. They lost their way, got vanished. Some tried to work in other business lines, some began to work hard for bread and butter, and some committed suicide.

FILM SHOOTING

The film tries to settle the audience in a mesmerizing dramatization of shooting a war scene and the struggle behind arranging the camera and managing the crew in a broad daylight. Shooting a film one hundred years ago was tormenting.

I particularly liked the sequence where Nellie had to shoot in a studio where something repeatedly messes up and has to improve in retakes without any certainty of any error in extreme heat.

PICTURING THE HISTORIC MOMENT

A scene where Manny is shocked to witness the audience going berserk in joy about a talkie scene was accurate to the actual footage Damien Chazelle used here. A few of you may have gotten the idea but let me tell you that this was a historic moment during the proceedings of the 1927 film ‘The Jazz Singer‘ when Al Jolson said “Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet”. These were the first spoken words in any feature film. And that marked the end of the silent era.

It was extremely important to show this moment to the audience and I believe it was a fabulous shot.

BACCHANALIA AT THE START

Were the parties that wild as depicted in the opening sequence? Not sure to what level of craziness can bewilder into assuming it is accurate. It was like The Great Gatsby meets The Wolf of Wall Street one hot evening. I was just lost in a marvelous production and costume designing, and heavily detailed choreography.

BLACKFACE

Another vital fact from the 1920s Babylon captures is the controversial ‘Blackface‘. It was a kind of makeup to portray a caricature of a black person. Jazz trumpeter Sidney Palmer is requested to use blackface to make his skin further dark for the Southern audience. It was heartbreaking to see Sidney’s reaction. It was an insult and who knows, how often this happened in those times.

MARGOT ROBBIE

Amongst all the performances, Margot Robbie has the standout performance. That display of incredible body language, and mental breakdown, she is a beautiful and exceptional actress. And I feel sorry for her. She deserved the nomination for Best Actress at the Oscars but couldn’t make it perhaps because the film failed at the box office. And this is what I do not like. If the film flops, so goes the chance of getting nominated.

BABYLON FLOPPED!!!

Tobey Maguire plays James McKay in Babylon from Paramount Pictures.

Babylon was financed at nearly $80 million dollars but grossed only $50 million, not domestically but worldwide. This is an outrageous business.

Now, why the film failed at the box office? Screen time is the biggest reason that clocks around 190 minutes! Three hours and ten minutes of showing the audience the transition from silent to sound and how the main characters begin to fade. I am sorry but that is kind of lazy writing that will bore the audience to death.

Damien Chazelle was lost in presenting to us his visual artistry and his idea for glamour, sexuality, hedonism, and a few more. There were many scenes that were needless. The whole Tobey Maguire segment was a waste of time and contributed nothing to the story. In fact, what is the story of Babylon? Maybe I was lost in gazing at Margot Robbie that I didn’t question the story to myself.

CLOSING REMARKS

Babylon is a beautiful distraction. Perhaps, the film works better if it is rewritten as a musical. Deservingly nominated for both costume and production design. Should have also been nominated for Best Editing. It is a massive blunder! 

Babylon wants us the see the shining stars falling from the sky and fading in the proceeding. It is like our lives; we will gloom once we age. It also shows that if you do not keep it with the world, you will lose the path. The acceptance will diminish. The remembrance will suffer amnesia.

RATING: 6.5/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: The Elephant Whisperers (2022)

STORY

An indigenous couple in Tamil Nadu, Bellie and Boman, are mahouts and raise two orphaned elephants, Raghu and Ammu. With time and climate change, the other elephants roam in search of food and water and often get lost. But the couple does not give up and despite all the difficulties, they work hard to give Raghu and Ammu better lives.

REVIEW

‘The Elephant Whisperers‘ is a wildlife short documentary of forty minutes by Sikhiya Entertainment, a production company that has financed some distinctive films like ‘That Girl in Yellow Boots‘, ‘The Lunchbox‘, ‘Masaan‘, and ‘Pagglait’.

Debutant director Kartiki Gonsalves spent five years for extensive research on the couple to document this film. As raising animals in the wildlife is common, what makes their case worthy of the documentary is that they were the first South Indian couple to successfully raise two orphaned elephants.

It is shocking but maybe that is because the forest officers take the animals from the villagers for perhaps safety reasons, or to move them to the zoo. But whatever reason there is, it is generally painful for the pet-keepers to give away their pets. And I totally understand that feeling because my family gave away dozens of cats when it became impossible to keep them.

The beauty of this documentary lies in capturing the growth of the elephants and detailing their upbringing. The detailing of their mannerism is exciting. It is so loving to see how these animals show affection to their keepers, sit and lie with them, and become moody about their choice of eating. The villagers love and respect the elephants as equivalent to a God due to their Lord Ganesha. Decorate and take them into ceremonies to seek blessings.

Also, the documentary explores the attractive natural beauty of the region. As expected, the cinematography is compelling. If wildlife forestry does not get quality camera work, especially if the film is shot in South India, I believe 90% of the hard work for that project is a waste. The camera zooming out at a mountain from where the villagers extract honey is a spectacular shot.

CLOSING REMARKS

The purpose of the documentary (both long and short) is to gather information from the exhausting research on the project and present it with the best of productional technicalities. In forty minutes, Kartiki Gonsalves gives us the best possible insights about raising elephants in different seasons and difficult conditions.

This Netflix documentary has reached the Oscar for ‘Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film‘. Unsure if this is Oscar worth but I am 100% sure that for animal lovers, forty minutes of life are going to be well invested.

RATINGS: 8/10

 

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

STORY

In the Kingdom of Wakanda, T’Challa dies of some illness. His mother leads the nation but Wakanda slowly looks to become vulnerable to the intervention of the world powers.

Wakanda is alarmed by the arrival of Namor, the King of Talokan, a civilization that lives underwater. He proposes to become allies and protect each other by striking the world powers since T’Challa revealed Wakanda’s true nature to them by the end of the first film. And then the conflict begins.

REVIEW

The sequel of Black Panther holds immense sentimental value as Chadwick Bosman passed away from colon cancer a couple of years ago. It was decided that the sequel will still continue with no new actor to replace him for Black Panther. So it became a bigger challenge to proceed like that with a story that has the potential to deservingly continue the legacy that Chadwick left.

And I fully appreciate director Ryan Coogler to come up with a story and screenplay that strengthen the continuity. T’Challa’s sister Shuri is the new Black Panther and I think no one deserves more than her after Chadwick. The large gap that T’Challa has left to fill for impactful leadership is well-directed. The emergence of Namor further intensifies Shuri’s concern as the CIA is helpless this time.

During all this, Queen Ramonda gets a much more solid outing this time as compared to the previous film. And Angela Bassett has given a pretty remarkable performance, especially the scene where she breaks down and laments. Angela’s best feature about her role is the body language of grief that was carried well. She already had lost her husband in Civil War and her son at the start. And then Shuri got kidnapped.

Letitia Wright as Shuri in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Surely, everyone heartfelt the funeral of T’Challa at the beginning. But my objection here is why none of the Avengers showed up at the funeral. I understand that the whole fighting crew will not assemble and attend the funeral of every superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when they die like Iron Man. But this was a different case due to the real death of an actor. And I loved how the MCU’s traditional opening credits fully honored him. He deserved that.

One can easily differentiate the directional artistry of this Wakanda Forever from most of the MCU films. The tone is serious and looks pretty much for a mature audience. The film slipped only once when Shuri and Okoye go to collect Riri.

SHAPING ‘YOUNG AVENGERS’

Speaking of Riri, one must have noticed that in the last couple of years, MCU has introduced young superheroes. Eli Bradley a.k.a. Patriot made a debut in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Hawkeye introduced Kate Bishop, Kamala Khan had her own show, Multiverse of Madness introduced America Chavez. Cassie Lang is to be properly introduced in Quantumania. And Hulk‘s son Skaar appeared in She-Hulk‘s last episode. Billy and Tommy were introduced in WandaVision and may develop their alter-egos of Wiccan and Speed in the upcoming Agatha series.

Shuri herself is quite young and now introduces Riri who is Ironheart. Ironheart is quite a new comic character created by Brian Michael Bendis that made debut a few years ago. She will have her own show later this year.

But my point is that maybe, a superhero team of Young Avengers is shaping that may assemble possibly in ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty‘. Just a theory from a comic geek. Although Doctor Strange is now leading the MCU, it will be awesome to see Peter Parker and Shuri lead the Young Avengers.

TALOKAN KING

I am very much delighted to see Namor’s debut. Although I am unsure if the origin story the film ran is accurate to comics because I have never read him but I liked the connection to how he is brought to this exciting world. So if you have any knowledge of how accurate is Namor in comics, share it with me.

CLOSING REMARKS

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a rare DNA amongst its equals in the MCU and deserves praise for being a film that stood for its story and matured well. Yes, at a length of 160 minutes, the film did slow down in the middle but justified because Namor was to be detailed. But the legacy of Wakanda and T’Challa has neither faded nor been ruined. It is convincingly amongst the best films Marvel Studios has ever produced.

RATING: 8.4/10

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