Movie Analysis : Mission Majnu (Netflix)

Directed by : Shantanu Bagchi

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13131232/

Jung hathiyaro se nahi, intelligence se jeeti jaati hai.

Spoilers ahead..

Set in 1970s, its about an undercover Indian spy agent Amandeep Singh/Tariq (Sidharth Malhotra) who is tasked to find out the secret place where Pakistan is trying to conduct nuclear weapons program. And the name of the mission is 'Mission Majnu'. 

From the trailer itself I had the vibe of how on the face patriotism this movie will have and I wasn't proven wrong. But what was really disappointing that even the spy story was so damn silly, I mean I wasn't expecting much when it comes to how caricature portrayal of Pakistan would be but atleast don't defy logic and try to engage audience with a good thrilling narrative. 

The story has major scope to build characters and tension since its taking up a real life incident and includes some famous people of that time footage too. Check the level of stupidity - There's a brigadier who is openly sharing top secret information with a tailor (Tariq). We see the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (Rajit Kapoor) in anger saying we will do anything to win against India even if it means we starve for food, and then eats a piece of chocolate cake. That's the kind of humor in this movie.

We see Tariq time and again try to get information through gossips with woman, or a boy or shopwala, because the cue  given in script is, no one will ever get suspicious about you. There's Aslam Usmania (Sharib Hashmi), another undercover raw agent, who is hot tempered taking his gun out so easily and yet has never got caught, go figure yourself! Also, there's a mention of 'very dangerous Pakistan scientist' who works on this nuclear program, but throughout the movie I couldn't understand what they really meant by dangerous because nothing felt like so. Maybe, dangerous has a new meaning as per this movie. 

There's 2 very irritating characters, one of Raw Officer Sharma (Zakir Hussain) who constantly keeps bullying Tariq for his past related to a traitor father.. but its just too repetitive to my liking. Zakir Hussain does get one good scene later on where he suggests how sitting on other end through phone one tries to be patriotic not realizing real work is being done by other guys in the field who aren't valued enough. The other one was Tariq's wife, Nasreen Khan's (Rashmika Mandanna) father who keeps on disliking Tariq because of his low earning status. 

Sidharth Malhotra really struggles, ofcourse part of it is to do with the poor script but he still gave the  feeling of miscasted. When he says those lines in 'Shershaah' that are patriotic, they made an effect because the story was moving one. Here, in that scene where he tells Raman (Kumud Mishra, playing another undercover raw agent) and Aslam, about what he feels for India, it just comes across some street guy telling how patriotic he is. Rashmika Mandanna in her debut hindi movie is limited to a very one-note character, a reason why that climax scene doesn't invoke the emotions it should had.

Even Kumud Mishra  overacts for a change, it was tough to see him in that scene where he is pretending to be a Pakistani army officer. 

I never loved, Shershaah like most people did yet I enjoyed that film along with Sidharth performance. But, with Mission Majnu there's just nothing to like, even the songs are so dull and sleep inducing. Its just a failure of what could had been a good spy thriller if not more, like Raazi or even Romeo Akbar Walter were. Maybe Mission Majnu's target audience was only Sidharth fans or the patriotic lovers who will like anything that screams patriotism.

My Rating : 3/10 

Movie Analysis : Pinocchio (Netflix)

Directed by : Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1488589/

The one thing that makes life precious, you see, is how brief it is.

Spoilers ahead...

A stop motion musical about a wooden boy Pinocchio (voice by Gregory Mann) who is magically brought to life to mend the heart of a grieving father Geppetto (David Bradley). What follows are the adventures of Pinocchio as he learns the good and bad sides of this world, with the story set in fascist Italy of 1930s. 

The movie starts with a father losing his child at a young age and ends with a child outliving his parents. Both thoughts always gets to me, like which is worse, or maybe its impossible to tell.  Simply hard to imagine the life of the person who lives in both cases. 

We see a good flashback through Cricket (Ewan McGregor) who later lives in the heart of Pinocchio, as the lovely relationship of Geppetto and his young son Carlo (voice by Alfie Tempest) is developed only to be cut short by a terrible war accident where Carlo dies. 

Consumed with grief for years, Pinocchio comes in the life of Geppetto, but as expected he doesn't openly accept him. A part of the reason being he doesn't want to be told that Carlo will never return in flesh as a boy. Among many musical pieces, the first one involving Pinocchio is my fav 'Everything is new to me', its a hilarious fun take of a young boy learning new words. 

There's main 3 adventures, one involves a carnival guy Count Volpe (voice by Christoph Waltz) who is thrilled to know he has found a talking puppet in Pinocchio, second is about getting enrolled at war where Podesta's (voice by Ron Perlman) strict set rules have to be accepted at any cost that holds true for his own son too, and lastly a giant sea whale shape creature that wants to eat anything that comes in sight of it. 

While I enjoyed the former, the Podesta one was little irritating to watch with respect to how fascist the town was. The latter adventure was the only one where I felt bored, and probably could had been left out. 

The rabbits, hell lady or Cricket (who thank goodness gets to complete his song at endcredits), all provide some good laughing moments. The visuals are great, giving total feel of the grim world the story is set in and how Pinocchio's innocent mind takes him to many misadventures. 

I like how father-son relationship stays the main focus of entire story even when Pinocchio participates for Volpe or enrolls (forcefully) for Podesta, in his mind he is only thinking of papa or making him proud. Also, love how slowly Geppetto realizes that he can't have Pinocchio to be a look alike of Carlo, rather must accept him for his own qualities. The confusion Pinocchio has, or the feeling he goes through learning he is a burden for his own papa, having just learnt what 'burden' means from 'Cricket' just recently. All of it makes for a great watch. 

Overall, Pinocchio is a lovely animation movie full of strong emotions, that should work maybe slightly more for the matured audience than the children for the dark mood it carries.

My Rating : 7/10 

Movie Analysis : Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Netflix)

Directed by : Alejandro G Inarritu

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14176542/

Life is just a brief series of senseless events. You must surrender to it. 

Spoilers ahead...

A decorated journalist who is now an independent documentarian, Silverio (Daniel Gimenez Cacho) visits his home place Mexico along with his family, wife Lucia (Griselda Siciliani), son Lorenzo (Iker Sanchez Solano) and daughter Camila (Ximena Lamadrid). Silverio is about to become 1st Mexican for a prestigious award in United States. Its also a sort of semi-biography of the director Inarritu himself. 

Felt the movie was way too self-indulgent, with some shots just meandering on. I did like most of the crazy creative sequences specially the hilarious way of showing the sorrow of losing new born child when the doctor says 'the child finds this world too fu*ked up to be part of'', though the reverse procedure of child birth was very gross to watch. 

Bardo actually means the state of body after death and before rebirth (if that really happens). In the movie, the way its filmed it gets tough to know which scene is real, which is a dream, which is part of documentary by the name 'False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths' and by the ending you realise there's a possibility maybe the entire movie took place in the head of Silverio. 

I liked the conversation Silverio has with his dad in a dreamy sequence, minus his odd looking face over his younger version (no idea the reason behind doing this). Even the bodies falling down one by one was good until its revealed what the actual scene is. Muting other person's voice or speaking without using lips was another interesting choice. There's a heated arguement Silverio has with his son about Mexico and immigrants. And also, we see how much Silverio suffers from the imposter syndrome. 

To be honest, there's a lot to like about the themes this film covers, some of them individually works, but as a collective film it never really engages me. Maybe its a film meant for either the art lovers or those who know Inarritu work closely as I have only seen 2 of his films in past. 

Still, no regrets of watching Bardo even if it wasn't really my sort of movie. 

My Rating : 5/10 

Movie Analysis : The Sea Beast (Netflix)

Directed by : Chris Williams 

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9288046/

You can be a hero and still be wrong. 

Spoilers ahead... 

Popularly known as Monster Hunters, Jacob Holland (voice by Karl Urban) and Captain Crow (voice by Jared Harris) on their 'Inevitable' ship are headed to hunt down a sea monster 'The Red Bluster'.  They soon find out that a little girl Maisie (voice by Zaris-Angel Hator), a big fan of them, unknowingly had sneaked into the ship. As the journey goes on, Maisie and Jacob discover being a hero isn't always about winning fights. 

The idea of 'Monsters can be good too' or 'War isn't good' has been explored a hell lot in past decade, and here it's not properly executed making it feel like forced upon specially due to Maisie, who for her age acts too much like an adult. 

The starting 15 mins of movie is enjoyable, but the shift of story moment Maisie turns up on the ship starts to derail the movie as the sea adventure never really wows me. Even the animation of the sea monster looked bad probably aimed for the children, and it didn't help that the mannerisms reminded me of Godzilla (for the way she shows anger) and also King Kong (for the relationship she forms with Maisie)

I do like the bonding between Jacob and Captain Crow initially, and would have preferred it to stay same or atleast a valid reason given for the hatred Captain Crow has for the monsters. That's the problem of movie, we are left to assume a lot, nothing is exactly mentioned. The witch sequence felt completely un-necessary and the ending was predictable along with a preachy tone.

Overall, The Sea Beast is one of those movies that you may re-watch in future but you just can't love it. 

My Rating : 5/10 

Movie Analysis : Blonde (Netflix)

Directed by : Andrew Dominik

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655389/

But where does dreaming end and madness begin? Anyway, isn't all love based on delusion ?

Spoilers ahead.. 

A biography on the life of American actress Marilyn Monroe/Norma Jeane (Ana de Armas).

I have never seen any of Marilyn movies, and also rarely heard much about her except for the famous skirt flying scene which frankly speaking I never get what is really great about that. So, I won't comment on how much real the story is, and how much its fictionalised. 

Coming to this movie, the reason to watch was my love for Ana de Armas who in her brief period has become one of my favourites and she doesn't disappoint here too. 

The pace of the film never bothered me, I have seen much slower films than this that were dull. What did effect me was how one note the narrative is. Basically its showing just the negative aspects of Norma Jeane life, from her childhood struggles having a mom with mental issues, a neighbour who sends her to an orphanage, forced sex to get work, forced abortion, miscarriage, domestic violence, and always seen as an object of desire when around men. I mean I could hardly find 1-2% of film where Norma was happy or joking around. I understand you want to show the dark side of her life, but why would anyone watch almost 3 hour long movie that shows no respite and also gets very repetitive with the 'daddy issue' angle with those 'Your tearful father' letters. And some scenes are really disturbing to watch.

Where the movie fails badly is how Marilyn got the fame and how she got addicted to drugs, both are poorly covered in a rush. As a reason her dark life, her choices made, or her mood swings or her alter ego (she hates to see herself as Marilyn on screen), these major themes of the film never fully comes across as it should had. The shift between black & white, and color scenes at places was a turn off too. 

Among rest cast, Julianne Nicholson (playing mother of Norma) is really good in the few scenes she got. Xavier Samuel (playing Cass Chaplin) also is likeable, specially that mirror scene. 

Overall, Blonde just never worked for me. The reaction Norma's first husband gives when she narrates a poem to him is how I felt for the film.To be honest, even though I loved Ana de Armas performance, I really don't want her to win Oscar for this role. 

My Rating : 2.5/10 

Movie Analysis : Phone Bhoot (Netflix)

Directed by : Gurmmeet Singh

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12740760/

Hum ek chudail hai, hum toh work from home bhi nahi kar sakte hai na.

Spoilers ahead... 

Two losers who are also horror fanatics, Galileo Parthasarthy/Gullu (Ishaan Khattar) and Sherdil Shergill/Major (Siddhant Chaturvedi) are given ultimatum of 3 months by their parents to prove that they really are Ghostbusters. Soon they meet a real ghost Ragini (Katrina Kaif), who is willing to help them in their business and in return she asks favour of dealing with Aatmaram Shastrashakti (Jackie Shroff) having a history with him. 

This plot would make any horror lover like me really interested, despite being a comedy genre. The art direction easily catches the eyes right at the first introductory sequence of Gullu and Major, so much detailing done with the b-grade horror movie posters, a statue named Raaka who is like God for Gullu and Major, along with  'The Shining' outlook hotel hallway set in there.

There's a limit to how many film references you do even when the entire movie is a spoof. Phone Bhoot doesn't care about that, some jokes do land but most of them miss the mark. The romantic track that comes in form of Ragini's flashback is boring too. 

Out of so many weird situations, there's 4 what the hell moments - first is when Ragini drops into a Slice ad (spoof on Katrina Kaif 's ad) to seduce Gullu, then there's a Bengali chudail (strangely played by Sheeba Chaddha) who tries to run away from Gullu and Major, only to be told by Ragini that she has reached Lahore, and the song starts playing 'lahore aaya, main uthe'. There's the exorcism (or attempt at that) scene where Gullu removes the aatma from a Madrasi girl's body by mimicking Rajnikanth. And in the climax, suddenly Aatmaram plays flute to the famous track 'Tu mera hero hai'. These are just few examples of how cringy and stupid the movie is even when the actors try to make fun of their own past work. 

Two guilty pleasure laugh moments for me were when going to a person's home living near Aamir Khan's bungalow is referred to as 'intelligent honge phir toh'. And the Punjabi Daayan who easily gets her mind diverted and starts dancing when a Punjabi song is played. Raaka used as narrator for most of the film, is fun to hear both at the start of film and at the interval. Also, have to applaud the bromance of Ishaan Khattar and Siddhant Chaturvedi, so full of energy, they did try their level best in a bad movie. Very much how I felt about Vicky Kaushal in Govinda Naam Mera.

Overall, Phone Bhoot is a forgettable movie. Its so bad that there's a chance you would enjoy laughing at the movie along with your friends, maybe that's the target audience. 

My Rating : 3/10 

Movie Analysis : The Pale Blue Eye (Netflix)

Directed by : Scott Cooper

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14138650/

At times, I believe the dead haunt us because we love them too little. We forget them, you see. We don't mean to, but we do.

Spoilers ahead... 

Based on the novel by Louis Bayard, the story is set in 1830, on the banks of Hudson River, Augustus Landor (Christian Bale), a famous veteran detective has been asked to come to the United States Military Academy in West Point and do investigation over the death of a cadet found hanging with body mutilated. Unable to get to the root of the cause of murder, Mr Landor soon finds a partner in form of another cadet, a very talkative Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling). They together try to find the culprit and stop the count of dead cadets that was increasing. 

Technically there's lot to like, the whole gothic whodunit drama productive design. works very well, and so does the cinematography showing off snow-clad New York location that is gorgeous to watch. Also, the atmospheric eerie feel adds up another layer, love the way the first scene of the film pans out. If only the narration of the story was as engaging, this would had been a great film. 

The most problematic part was the 2nd act, it meanders on and never focusses on the Marquis family - Dr Daniel Marquis (Toby Jones), his wife Mrs Julia Marquis (Gillian Anderson), daughter Lea Marquis (Lucy Boynton) and a son Cadet Artemus Marquis (Harry Lawtey). Due to that, the final act when the twist is revealed never really hits you hard as it feels so rushed. Even there was a case of making Edgar's character more doubtful to be the one involved in some evil act. Gillian Anderson specially is underutilised. And all scenes of Patsy (Charlotte Gainsbourg) felt boring who plays a sort of love interest for Landor. 

Another way the film may have worked is if it was from start a revenge movie and on the way Landor finds out about some satanic practices that makes him to try and get involved in that case. Even could had explored the idea of 'the military academy' responsible for what's happening to cadets as shown in the Landor's outburst scene.

Christian Bale as expected is great to watch, and delivers an enjoyable performance. His look did remind me a lot of The Prestige. However, the very talkative Harry Melling who initially felt irritating slowly catches up on you, and he's the actual reason to stay invested in the film despite being a supporting actor. I specially enjoyed whenever he would tell what his dead mother told him in his sleep. Also, I liked Superintendent Thayer (Timothy Spall), Captain Hitchcock (Simon McBurney) and Toby Jones in whatever little screen-time they all get.

Overall, The Pale Blue Eye is underwhelming, and chances are you wouldn't want to give it a second viewing to track the doings of Landor with his purpose known now. 

My Rating : 5.5/10 

Movie Analysis : Glass Onion - A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix)

Directed by : Rian Johnson

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11564570/

It's a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth. 

Spoilers ahead... 

Set in the Covid times, Billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) invites 5 of his friends Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), Duke Cody (Dave Bautista), Andi Brand (Janelle Monae), Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn) and Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr) to his Greek island for a fun weekend involving a murder mystery game where the victim is Miles himself. The catch here is that all these 5 friends got motives to actually really kill him. Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) joins them for ofcourse finding the killer.

Normally this plot would make for a very good suspense whodunnit thriller specially coming from Rian Johnson who impressed a lot in Knives Out. Unfortunately, that never happens in this movie.

The start is very dull where the rich people status and their way of living got to me within few minutes. The first real fun moment comes when Andi tears apart the gift box rather than opening it in the puzzle manner like everyone else irritatingly did before. And with the introduction of Benoit Blanc there's atleast some respite, I love how he pokes fun regularly at the setting of Glass Onion in the Greek Island about how the lifestyle of rich is larger than life.

None of the 5 friends including a good performance from Dave Bautista is engaging enough to keep your attention. All their stories either feels too not my type to or just plain boring. The twist to Andi's story to some extent works but then its totally spoiled by that bizarre silly stupid final act. 

Both Daniel Craig (his accent bothers at times) and Edward Norton do their best to overcome the average writing and screenplay. I feel the whole idea of Miles playing a murder game based on his own murder would had been good to actually take place rather than getting spoiled by Benoit. 

Overall, Glass Onion was a big disappointment. I would rather prefer watching Knives Out again!

My Rating : 4.5/10 

Movie Analysis : Red Notice (Netflix)

Directed by : Rawson Marshall Thurber

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7991608/

I am big on forgiveness. I always have been. But I am not so big on forget-ness. 

Spoilers ahead... 

When FBI agent John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) catches the much sought after thief Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds), he isn't aware that The Bishop (Gal Gadot) is going to double cross him. The whole plot revolves around assembling all 3 bejeweled eggs from ancient history when Cleopatra had got them as a wedding gift from her husband. 

The comic timing of all 3 leads makes it watchable but the story is too ordinary and also the twists specially the climax one makes you question what you saw so far. I didn't even bother to remember if they cheated in some scenes. Actually one comes to mind, didn't John came to the back of van to check the Egg while The Bishop is hiding as if she needs to be afraid of him!

Some of the action setpieces are enjoyable specially the 1st Nolan-John chase, the flashback story of Nolan is nice. Then there's the gorgeous Gal Gadot performing action along with Dwayne and Ryan. All this is not enough to hide the fact that the story has no emotional connect and even fails to entertain as it could had if the writing was good. Ryan Reynolds is fun but getting little repetitive. What's ironic was the person for whom so much trouble was done to get those 3 eggs and be gifted for her wedding.. she actually cared more about an Ed Sheeran singing performance. 

Overall, Red Notice is very below average that entertains in patches. 

My Rating : 4/10 

Movie Analysis : Doctor G (Netflix)

Directed by : Anubhuti Kashyap

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9054970/

Mujhe bahut bahut khushi hoti hai tumhe jeet-te huye dekhke,

aur usse jyada khushi hoti hai tumhe ladte huye dekhke. 

Spoilers ahead... 

Uday Gupta (Ayushmann Khurrana) secures a low rank in competitive medical exam and has to take a seat in Gynaecology rather than his preferred Orthopaedics. He joins the work at Bhopal Institute of Medical Sciences 10 days late and meets the fellow doctors that includes Dr Fatima Siddiqui (Rakul Preet Singh) while senior most Dr Nandini Shrivastav (Shefali Shah) wants Uday to get serious or leave the department. 

If there was any other actor in place of Ayushmann Khurrana, this film might have been more engaging because in parts it tries to convey 2 plots some of which does work, one is ofcourse about how it feels for a male to take up Gynaecology (I am unsure about the facts if in reality very few males take up this field). And other is about the struggle of understanding what a girl is trying to say because Uday never understands all the women that are part of his life, whether its the girlfriend he just broke up with being too possessive about her, his mom (Sheeba Chaddha is too good in this supporting role) who wants to be a famous chef but her interest in Tinder irritates him or his new building friendship with Dr Fatima that he feels is more than just that. 

With a very mediocre music, its just 2 actors who really standout in this movie, one is Shefali Shah and other is Abhay Mishr who plays close friend of Uday. I also liked Rakul Preet Singh, good to see not the routine ending where she would had cancelled her wedding with fiance and gone with Uday instead. Indraneil Sengupta playing brother of Uday was highly irritating. 

Overall, Doctor G is just an average movie, its fun in parts, but hard to overlook when it gets cringy and preachy. I like that Ayushmann keeps taking up taboo topics, but his roles have to get some variations, so far there are some films that I haved liked and some like Doctor G I couldn't. Give me AndhaDhun anyday!

My Rating : 5/10 

Movie Analysis : The Good Nurse (Netflix)

Directed by : Tobias Lindholm 

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4273800/

Why ?

They didn't stop me.

Spoilers ahead... 

Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain), a single mother with 2 daughters works at the Parkfield Memorial Hospital as a night nurse in ICU. She has a heart condition but can't let anyone at hospital know or she will lose the insurance she badly needs. When Charlie Cullen (Eddie Redmayne) joins her as the male nurse, they form a good friendship but she isn't aware of Charlie's past and what kind of person he actually is until some patients begin to die. 

If you are told the basic premise and the true events on which the film is based then it would bring a very chilling effect just to think how dangerous your life can be even when you are safely in the doctor's hands just because a male nurse wants to kill you for no reason at all. He was charged for 29, but it is believed that he actually killed around 400 patients. Also, you can't help but think how poor the health system is if they allowed this guy to shift jobs from one hospital to another 9 times. 

In the film however, this feeling never comes across fully as I felt it should have. We do get some great scenes involving both Jessica and Eddie (who are really good in their performances), but they never culminate into more than that. There's always a creepy kind of feeling hanging whenever we see Charlie come into the frame especially after the moment Amy learns his truth. Or how afraid suddenly Amy feels when Charlie is at her home with her daughters. I liked both the confrontation scenes, one at the restaurant and other in jail, though I still don't understand why he did it or maybe we will never know.

One reason for the slow pace of movie could be to set up the moody feel while showing the life of a nurse at hospital. I still would had preferred tight editing, some scenes just meander along way too long serving no purpose. 

If like me you had never heard about Charlie Cullen, then 'The Good Nurse' is going to be worth a watch as you realize that such kind of 'serial killer' (if I can call that) exists too. Despite a weak screenplay and loose editing, the story and performances make up for it to some extent. 

My Rating : 6/10 

Movie Analysis : The Adam Project (Netflix)

Directed by : Shawn Levy

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2463208/

When a bad idea is the only idea, it becomes a great idea. 

Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds), a pilot who time travels from the future into 2022 accidentally meets his younger 12 year old self (Walker Scobell) who is still mourning the loss of his father Louis Reed (Mark Ruffalo) having lost him in an accident a year ago. Adam wants to travel to 2018 and find what happened to his wife Laura (Zoe Saldana). In his way is an obstacle of Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener) who was once partner of Louis at work but in the future she became greedy to be in total control of Time-Travel.

Having directed some of the episodes of 'Stranger Things' and also 'The Free Guy' that I enjoyed a lot, have to say this movie turned out to be a little disappointment. The whole time-travel plot I understand wasn't meant to be complex and rather used in entertaining way, yet it never appeals or draws me towards the storyline. 

Some of the scenes that actually worked were the non-comedy ones like Adam's interaction with her mother Ellie Reed (Jennifer Garner) at the pub, or younger Adam giving advice to Adam about their dad, or Louis just pondering over if his busy professional life has lead to very less time given to his own son.

The entire romantic angle of Adam-Laura felt too rushed to my liking, it would have actually worked lot better had they kept Laura completely out of story and just introduced her in the last when that story Adam told his younger self happens again. 

The Adam Project with a weak core story and irritating villain ends to be quite a bore despite some good performances and the usual Ryan Reynolds laughs. 

My Rating : 4.5/10

Movie Analysis : Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (Netflix)

Directed by : Anees Bazmee

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6455162/

Mere ghar ka toh phone na tring tring nahi karta, conjuring conjuring karta hai.

Spoilers ahead... 

Two strangers, Reet Rathore (Kiara Advani) and Ruhaan Randhawa (Kartik Aaryan) meet at a bus stop, they visit a music festival and become so friendly that Reet asks for a favor from Ruhaan to come along to her hometown in Rajasthan while she pretends to be dead to her family so that her fiance gets married to her sister. The only issue is they decide to hide in that very abandoned mansion that was shut down 18 years ago with the spirit of Manjulika trapped inside a room. 

Watching the movie I was wondering if forced humor is the new norm and do today's youth enjoy this in name of entertainment? What happened to the genuine laughs we would get over films a decade or so ago. The original directed by Priyadarshan and starring Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan was miles better than this. 

Anees Bazmee films have in past worked for me, even that guilty pleasure movie 'Mubarakan'. But here, I kept searching for the moments when I would really say 'Oh yea, this was a very good punchline'. There are so many un-necessary parts that if edited out would atleast had made for a shorter movie even if it wouldn't still have made any difference to the poor humor thanks to the writing team. For instance, both the tracks involving Reet and Ruhaan, firstly does nothing to narrative, and secondly they were so average to listen to. Then that entire 'RoohBaba' angle was not required, complete waste of time it was.

There's Bade Pandit (Sanjay Mishra) who keeps using yester year movies songs/dialogues to talk while having an hearing issue. Normally, Sanjay Mishra would be very reliable but here even he felt so irritable, very few scenes worked like the one where he asks Manjulika to translate in hindi as his bengali is as poor as french. Both Rajesh Sharma and Govind Namdeo are under utilised. Ashwini Kalsekar was good, and the Rajpal Yadav 'Big Boss' dialogue was hilarious. 

The best part of the movie was Tabu, in the double role she was so good. There's a scene where she kills her dad, the way she behaves there slightly reminded of 'AndhaDhun'. The flashback scene telling the story of Manjulika, the entire black magic and then the twist at the end was very well done. 

Kartik Aaryan's comic timing is pretty good which is a reason he was able to get some laughs out of silly moments or poor writing too. I also liked his dance over the male version of 'Ami je tomar'. While Kiara did really nothing except being a glamour element, and I was really happy that they didn't go the route of Manjulika possessing her body because that prank scene where she mimicked Manjulika was extremely poor acting. 

In the end, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 falls way short when compared to Akshay's movie in 2007, is it watchable for Tabu's performance alone ? Not really. 

My Rating : 4.5/10 

Movie Analysis : Enola Holmes 2 (Netflix)

Directed by : Harry Bradbeer

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14641788/

No matter how lost you feel, if you stay true to yourself, the path will always find you again.

Spoilers ahead.. 

Opening up her own Detective Agency in London, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) is super excited only to find no clients at all as her age and the fact that she is sister of Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill) often comes in way of her getting new cases. Just when she is about to close the agency, a little girl Bessie Chapman (Serrana Su-Ling Bliss) comes for help to find her missing sister Sarah Chapman (Hannah Dodd). Enola soon learns about a matchstick factory where Sarah worked and there the girls were dying from Typhus disease as she tries to dig deeper into the case.  On other hand, Sherlock Holmes  himself is busy in a case involving corruption soon realizing he is against a very clever rival named Moriarty.  The question is, are both the cases interlinked ? 

Its a much better film than the 1st one (Enola Holmes), the pacing is good, very less meaningless interactions (already introduced characters before, helps in that regards) and we get lot more of Sherlock in this part in a supporting way making sure it still stays Enola's story. The use of breaking the 4th wall is again done exceptionally well without overdoing it, the feminism angle is still there but at the core the movie focusses very well on how Enola solves a new case with all the difficulties she faces. Liked how the nepotism angle is subtly played out where Enola is frustrated to be in the shadows of her brother Sherlock, while trying to create her own identity. Also, a lovely scene involving her mother telling her that its not compulsory to be great on your own, she can still accomplish a lot by seeking help of the ones that are close to her. 

I however still did not like Henry Cavill as Sherlock, for the same reasons.. just hard to see anyone else in this role other than Benedict or Robert, even though he does a fairly decent job. 

The star of the movie is Millie Bobby Brown who is delightful and perfectly suited in this character full of energy, ready to take on the world and even her own brother. I would love to see her get a tougher next case to solve. Special mention to David Thewlis (playing Grail) who is efficient in a negative role. Other cast involving Louis Partridge, Sharon Duncan-Brewster and Hannah Dodd also chip in with good performances. There's a end credits scene involving the introduction of Dr Watson, slightly skeptical about it but hoping the actor chosen would be good in this role. 

I would have personally loved next part to have Sherlock and Enola together solve a case from the very start. But the scene where Enola refuses the offer of 'Holmes and Holmes' from Sherlock probably suggests we may again get them on different cases and meeting each other's paths along the way. 

Even though the case may not look that complex, Enola Holmes 2 screenplay holds itself very well and turns out to be a pretty good entertainer full of adventures.

My Rating : 6.5/10 

Also, DO READ - Mini Review : Enola Holmes (Netflix)

Movie Analysis : Dhokha Round D Corner (Netflix)

Directed by : Kookie Gulati

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10644708/

Main farebi nahi hoon Gul, aazmaa ke dekh lo.

Spoilers ahead..

Yathaarth Sinha (Madhavan) at work catches a glimpse of a news running on tv describing a terrorist Haq Riyaaz Gul (Aparshakti Khurana) in Springshine Aparments and soon realizes its his own house he is hiding where his wife Saanchi Sinha (Khushali Kumar) would be all alone. ACP Harishchandra Malik (Darshan Kumaar) has the whole building sealed trying to negotiate with Haq Gul. But, none of these 4 main characters could be trusted as we keep on getting their perspective stories one by one over what happened in past. 

Usually a film like this that keeps testing your brain is an immediate thumbs up for me, but here the issue is that firstly it tries to overdo it as a result it gets so much tangled that you no longer care who is telling the truth until everything is revealed in the climax. And then there's little hard to believe scenarios happening specially how Haq Gul having got betrayed by Saanchi, still falls for her 2nd time around. Thats too much even if at that time you are willing to trust his story on being innocent regarding the alleged hostel blast attack.

Also, having a talented actor like Madhavan and keeping him in more of a supporting role wasn't really a good idea. Having said that it was a delight to watch Aparshakti Khurana in a non-comedy role even if he had to go through a very below average writing and cringy situations at many places. Khushali Kumar too does a decent debut job as a housewife trying to seduce and having a personality disorder that makes the whole situation a deeper mess.

There's 2 really laughable moments (not sure if intentional or not).. first is when Haq Gul is so frustrated that he can't understand who the real Saanchi is, he directly asks her 'Tum goli (medicine) se pehle wali asli ho ya phir goli ke baad wali.' And then there's a spoof on Arnab Goswami, who actually in entire film gets trolled a lot but this one was unmissable as it was a direct take on that famous clip 'mujhe drugs do, drugs do' if you seen it.. its cringeworthy but hard to not laugh at. 

Talking of the twists, there are many.. most of them you would be able to guess, except for the last one that actually is good because that negates those scenes where I felt why the hell is ACP Malik all the time chilling with Yathaarth, having cups of tea or smoking like he is so sure nothing is gonna happen.

A dark ending always makes me happy but in this case, it didn't really move me which was more to do with how mediocre the 2nd Act was, that it made me run out of the patience to know what happens to all these 4 main characters.

In a way this is unofficial adaptation of Ittefaq with many additions done, if only it was tightly edited and the feeling of repetitivity didn't come after a while. Still an okay one-time watch!

My Ratings : 5/10 

Movie Analysis : The Gray Man (Netflix)

Directed by : Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1649418/

Six is an odd name.

Just, 007 was taken, so.

Spoilers ahead...

Six (Ryan Gosling) signs a deal with Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) to work  for CIA in exchange for freedom from the prison for the murder sentence he was in for. Its been 18 years now, Fitzroy retired and his position taken up by Denny Carmichael (Rege Jean Page). On a mission given by Denny, Six comes across another guy named Four from the same program who reveals some dark secrets and hands him an encrypted drive having all the information. Denny hires Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) who is known for his sadistic methods to eliminate Six, while Six has very little time to uncover the truth behind the drive with suitable help from colleague Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas). 

The movie has everything you would expect from a spy thriller, lots of international locales, action set pieces (that rail tram sequence was amazing), attempt to not let a valuable drive go into wrong hands, an all out negative character and a foreign actor cameo which in this case is Dhanush (very well done action scene, and its good to see him not die). There's not much dull moments, the pacing is very good, even with very less character developments and a predictable plot, the film achieved to keep me engaged. The issue is when you have Russo Brothers and starcast of Ryan, Chris and Ana involved, just keeping you interested isn't enough, you are expecting lot of 'wow' moments which are very few here. 

Can't deny it was so fun watching Chris Evans in this negative role, total opposite of what he did as Captain America, all the bad mouthing and plus way he is acting it feels like how much he was enjoying playing this character, I do wish he had some better dialogue lines. On other hand, not that I find Ryan not suitable for these roles, just I personally prefer him lot more in comedy or romantic roles. His best parts actually are the conversations he has with either Fitzroy niece Claire (Julia Butters), that Bond 007 name reference,  or with Dani Miranda, specially the feeling ego hurt scene or handing her unloaded gun. Ana De Armas I felt was a very weakly written role, she still gets 1-2 scenes to shine through. 

The Gray Man is one of those films that despite being underwhelming is likeable and most likely I would be re-watching on tv to pass my time. 

My Rating : 6/10 

Movie Analysis : Ek Villain Returns (Netflix)

Directed by : Mohit Suri 

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11947158/

Marna chalega, haarna nahi...

Spoilers ahead.. 

A famous singer Aarvi Malhotra (Tara Sutaria) gets attacked at her flat and her ex boyfriend Gautam Mehra (Arjun Kapoor) becomes the prime suspect. One of the last people who called Aarvi before the attack was a cab driver Bhairav Purohit (John Abraham), who also has a past story with a salesgirl Rasika Mapuskar (Disha Patani). The plot deals with how these 4 get involved in each others life leading to very nasty situations. 

The movie is full of issues, goofups and silly acts (which I won't even waste my time to talk on). The two positives that I could somehow find were, firstly the music is very good even though it still falls short of the awesomeness 'Ek Villain' album was. My personal fav was 'Shaamat'. And then I loved that final twist, the whole idea of Bhairav falling into the belief that Rasika is the one telling him to do things was a very good one. Its however not original, reminded of Bates Motel a lot. I wish they used this twist at the interval and explored more on it post that, it surely would have made atleast one character more enjoyable i.e Bhairav. I don't know how did he survive that tiger attack but it does give a very nice final scene with special guest appearance of Riteish Deshmukh. 

Both stories of the couples told through 2 flashbacks was neither engaging nor likeable. I am not even sure if this got to do with poor casting or poor writing or combination of both. Just Tara Sutaria looks part of the film to some extent and also I like her voice in the songs she sang herself. Disha is hamming all the while, if not for that final twist you would even question why she behaves like that. I don't think John could had done anything more, too much limited scope with the role he has, while Arjun is lets say not that unbearable that I usually find him. 

Could had easily done away with the character of J.D.Chakravathi who basically does nothing but to inform us the audience the very basics of how serial killers work and he likes to call them 'Villain'. 

Overall, Ek Villain Returns looked like a really bad movie from the trailer so much that I wasn't planning to watch it, so in that regards I feel it was okay enough to sit through, its still a very below average movie. Do watch at your own risk.

My Rating : 4/10

Mini Review : The Big Bull (Hotstar) and Dhamaka (Netflix)

The Big Bull

Directed by : Kookie Gulati

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9614452/

Aadmi unchai ki taraf dekh raha ho toh usse tokna nahi chahiye.

Based on real events involving Harshad Mehta (whose name and all other characters related to him are changed here, I am guessing copywrites issue or plain laziness). 

If you had seen the trailer, then all the problems you could notice in it are present in the entire movie too. There is the obvious comparison you would do with Scam1992, but I personally knew there's no way The Big Bull or any film in future could do what that series did. Its like you read an excellent novel and hope its movie adaptation does 70% justice to it because that's the scope it will have at the best. Unfortunately, The Big Bull falls way short of that mark, one issue is the fact that its trying to include a lot of things, the main problem however is that the unwanted changes or directions it takes, for instance Hemant Shah (Abhishek Bachchan) greed is given a personal reason wanting money so he could stop marriage of the girl he loves Priya Patel Shah (Nikita Dutta). Hemant's brother Viren Shah (Sohum Shah) is also someone who needs help from Hemant, again leading to Hemant needing urgent money. Meera Rao (Ileana D'Cruz) the journalist who goes after Hemant, is easily the most poorly written character of all. Then there's scenes where we see Hemant continously laugh in an evil manner, for no apparant reason. 

Abhishek Bachchan at some places will remind you of his Guru performance, but apart from that he does his very best and is the main reason I managed to keep my interest in the movie. On one hand we had a series where each character was used perfectly, and here we get to see all the characters apart  from Abhishek getting wasted, specially Supriya Pathak and Saurabh Shukla.. In the end, its a one-time watch movie if you haven't seen Scam1992, and if you have then skipping this would do no harm at all. 

My Rating : 4/10 

Dhamaka 

Directed by : Ram Madhvani

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13510660/

Anchor kya hota hai ? Anchor actor hota hai.

Actor ko kya chahiye ? Actor ko audience chahiye. 

Audience ko kya chahiye ? Audience ko drama chahiye 

Unofficial remake of Korean movie 'The Terror Live', story is about Arjun Pathak (Kartik Aaryan) who one morning gets a call on his radio show from a person who says he would blast the sea link of Mumbai. Once Arjun realizes its not a prank call, he sees a wonderful opportunity in this moment of crisis, something that could get him his TV anchor job back. 

The whole angle of news channels hungry for TRP, news sold as masala rather than facts and how easily viewers fall for these fake news is very well captured atleast initially. Where the movie falls apart is the character of Arjun Pathak, that felt too greyish to my liking and it was a clear struggle for Kartik to play this part at many of the key scenes. Also, the entire terrorist plot didn't really kept me engaged or feel worried for people stuck at sea link, again part of it has to do with how inhuman Arjun Pathak character is. 

I myself hate news people to the core, but watching the film specially in 2nd and 3rd act, almost felt like they were treated like super villains specially the boss of TRTV played by Amruta Subhash. There are some good moments, like when she tells what news anchors are, or the initial montage covering the entire personal life of Arjun Pathak minus that irritating style of singing by Prateek Kuhad. Overall, Dhamaka promised a lot through its trailer but delivered very little. 

My Rating : 5/10 

Also, DO READ - Series Analysis : Scam 1992 (SonyLiv)

Series Analysis : Stranger Things S4 (Netflix)

Directed by : 

Matt Duffer/Ross Duffer (5 episodes each, 2022)

Shawn Levy (2 episodes, 2022)

Nimrod Antal (2 episodes, 2022)

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4574334/

Season4 

You see, humans are a unique type of pest, multiplying and poisoning our world, all while enforcing a structure of their own. A deeply unnatural structure.

Spoilers ahead... 

If the 3rd season showcased how tough it is to beat the monster, this season goes a step ahead in that direction. The story is now set in 2 places, one is Hawkins ofcourse, while other is Lenora where Will and Eleven/Jane study in the High School, a place Dr Owens chose so they could live peacefully. But when a teenager dies from Hawkins School and its learnt the monster is someone named Vecna, one can't help but feel Vecna has a link with Demogorgan/MindFlayer. 

All episodes are 1 hour long (the finale is a massive 2hr40 mins long episode) and yet I never felt bored, very engaged and I would say most of them were way too good. Some hiccups are there, its the ones where you can understand what the writers were trying, for instance how the whole bullying act of Eleven at Lenora reconnects later to how she had a history of it at Hawkins Lab. I didn't mind Eleven smashing the skate at that bullying girl. Also, the entire Lucas wanting to be popular plot I didn't want to happen but good thing is its really a very tiny screentime before he joins back the gang where he belongs. 

I felt disappointed with what they did to Jonathan's character, apart from the scene where he comforts Will, he's actually not doing anything in this whole season. That brings me to Nancy-Steve possible re-unite angle which is hinted numerous times and I feel its little forced. They did however listen to my demand as we got the Nancy-Robin pairing, that entire Asylum sequence was so terrific. Also, I love how Nancy is the boss when it comes to the final showdown, though frankly she's been the leader always in the past of all the heroic acts she's been part of. 

There are some characters that you start to love instantly, Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) is one of them. Even with his odd behavior in the first scene, I knew I would want more of him throughout the season. And I like how they equate him with Steve or his bonding with Dustin specially with that scene 'Never change'. One of my fav moment is when Eddie shouts at Robin 'This is Music' as she doesn't consider his taste of music good.  Argyle (Eduardo Franco) on the other hand provides some good comic relief specially when he shouts 'Nina Nina' or his comment on 'St Mary', and the reactions he gives to everything Eleven does in the final episode will make you laugh. 

Two episodes totally standout, and are probably among the best of the series, 'Dear Billy' and 'The Massacre at the Hawkins Lab'. The former keeps building towards possible death of Max, and the absolutely unforgettable scene involving Kate Bush's track 'Running Up The Hill' which you will keep humming for weeks atleast (months in my case). The latter is brilliant for firstly the Hopper-Joyce re-union happening, and then how the mystery regarding Vecna is solved with a reveal that some might have seen coming, I personally couldn't so it worked perfectly. 

Even the penultimate episode is very good. Much early in the season, Eleven outbursts at Mike for never saying how much he loves her, which makes sense because Mike's behavior has been very odd ...more on that later. In this episode too, Eleven has a much longer outburst, this time at Papa/Dr Brenner and again she talks sense letting Papa know he is the monster and also a reveal that Papa was all the time sending her to look for One and not any Soviet Union Projects. Also, it finally ends Eleven's dilemma she's been having since S1 that what if 'she is the monster'. I also enjoyed how the episode ends on a high with the use of 'Seperate Ways' track, its pretty short but the way they edit it over Henry's house gives a very chilling effect.

It's impossible to turn blind eye towards all the flaws the finale has, even though it still has so many highs which you frankly expect with a 2 hr 40 mins long episode. Eddie's death was a given because the moment his name was given out by police, it looked impossible for him to prove his innocence. But the execution was just terrible, he dies doing something that was un-necessary, there was no way Nancy-Steve-Robin needed any help when it was clearly told to not be a hero and get 1-2 mins of bats distraction which Eddie-Dustin had done. This just felt like one of those countless times you see a character do a total stupid act in a bad horror movie. Just compare it with what Billy did in S3, that death didn't go waste, and felt he was doing it for a good cause, but here this was plain stupidity and poor writing.

Then that '2 days later' felt like a total copout, even if you don't have to show everything, here it just seemed like a way to get out of this entire scene. This does give the writing team a chance to either bring back Eddie (possibly negative role by being a part of Vecna) or there's something Dustin and rest knows which is why they didn't look that sad later on. 

Even the final ending scene felt odd to me, the way everyone slowly walks to the garden and notice half flowers are Vecnaed, just lacked that 'Wow' feel all previous seasons ending scenes had.

Easily would had been the best perfect season, if not for all the inconsistencies of finale. Other than that, Mike's character is on decline.. just consider him in S1 and S2, how enthusiastic and eager he would be, now some would say love changes person but in his case the change feels very odd, even the attitude he shows towards Eleven when they meet at airport or his reaction at her chosen place to hangout feels like he is just not interested. Yes, he has got this feeling that he isn't special like Eleven is and she would dump him but that's not strong reason enough to ignore friends way he does, can't even notice Will crying next to him, and when Eleven has to save Max, thats the wierdest time he chooses to tell what he's been feeling off-late, I felt really pissed off watching him or for that matter the whole Mike-Eleven story. 

On the other hand, Lucas and Max pair was lot more enjoyable, that lovely card writing moment they share which could possibly their last happy memory together, or when Lucas asks her if he is part of the happiest memory she is going to go to deceive Vecna.  Infact among all the old characters, it was Max who very much stole the show this season. Also, great to see Joyce and Hopper together, I just hope none of them dies in final season, they both I feel have suffered the most due to Upside Down. And Joyce is probably the smartest of all the grown-ups in entire series. Two fav moments would be, one where Hopper is talking about how he feels he is the curse, and other when Joyce has a recap of Bob in her mind when Hopper is about to risk his life fighting a Demogorgan. 

Jamie Campbell Bower (One/Vecna/Henry) was simply exceptional, from the very first scene I was glued even though I wasn't aware who he was at that point. Love that moment when he wishfully asks Eleven to join him or how he dismisses Humans narrating their time on this planet should be over. 

The monster in this season was much more likeable and not gross, one minor issue I had was his constant breathing noise which sounded like 'hmmm' a lot. His killing method very much felt like reference or homage to 'IT' movie where the evil targets the teens bad life memories/events. 

Mason Dye (Jason), was a character that like everyone else I enjoyed watching die in the manner he does, yet in some ways I had sympathy for him because he didn't knew Upside Down Monsters exist so the conclusion of Satan cult and Eddie being main part of it wasn't really wrong. What did make it hard to support him was way he and his friends started treating firstly Eddie's friends (all that beating) and later on Erica too. Tom Wlaschiha (Dmitri Antonov/Enzo) was another great addition, his Russian dialect was very good and also his habit of bringing odds into situation (team up with Dustin maybe in S5?). Andrey Ivchenko (Grigori) despite all his funny laughters and jokes including the Katinka scene, won't have worked for me if not for his U-turn in the end thanks to the talk from Enzo that hits him hard. 

I like how they work out Martin Brenner's character, season starts with him leaving us in a mystery if Eleven is actually the monster (for a brief moment I did bought that idea). Later, how Martin brings her powers back but the reveal of how he was always looking to find One through Eleven was a good one. And I love how Eleven simply says Goodbye to Papa who in his dyeing moments too doesn't admit how abusive he always was.

Will much like S3 has so less to offer here, and at this point I don't even know where the writers can take his character. They could go the emotional route by killing him, or he could help everything get better.. either way it feels like he will much like S1 and S2 be the main character of the final season. 

Love the choice of music in the entire season, one of my favs was 'You spin me round like a record' (heard it in Dark previously). Apart from the tracks I have already mentioned, there's one that can't be left out without talking on it, Metallica's 'Master of Puppets', that guitar performance of Eddie, the parallel edit showing Max trying her best to defeat Vecna and those final moments where the music piece ends with Max back to the SnowBall event of S2, simply masterful editing and among best moment of entire season. 

Talking of the background themes, little disappointed to see no use of 'Upside Down' theme this time. I did love how they use 'Planck's Constant' over Eddie trying to run away in boat. My personal fav was 'Portal Drill' which was used before in S3 but here you could listen it much more properly and it almost feels like a theme of Vecna in a way, I particularly enjoyed how the happy memory 'Snowball' of Max gets Vecnaed with this theme running alongside.

Some other fav moments include all the sarcastic talks Steve and Dustin have, the funny lines Murray says while fighting Grigori inside the plane or way he reacts to Joyce in the plane about her worry regarding kids and also the funny reference to a 1 year old child. Erica's reply to Eddie at their first meet, Max learning how she is next possible victim of Vecna and Eleven when she blows up the helicopter with that loud scream felt really bad-ass.

Special Mention to that monster sound addition to the Tudum in all the episodes.

With the makers saying there will be no new additions in final season (if they are saying truth) then you can hope they will correct some mistakes and also not spoil anything with un-necessary circle acts, please I dont want Nancy-Steve together even if I love them both a lot. Rather give me a Nancy-Robin love angle.

Stranger Things for me is one of those comfort shows (very much like Money Heist) that I can watch again and again, despite the fact that it's not my top3 favourite show because I just cannot ignore the flaws or issues it has. The main reason is that the show has the sci-fi fantasy elements with backdrop of horror/creatures and lots of 80's nostalgic references, its just impossible not to enjoy.  Hoping for a very good conclusion in Final Season. 

My Rating : 8/10 

Also, DO READ : Series Analysis : Stranger Things S1-S3 (Netflix)

Quick Views - Oscar 2022 Films Part3

Spoilers ahead...

tick, tick...BOOM!

Directed by : Lin-Manuel Miranda

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8721424/

If I thought that what you thought

Was that I hadn't thought about sharing my thoughts

Then my reaction to your reaction 

To my reaction would have been more revealing.

Set in New York City, its the directorial debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda that is based on Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield) who died of an aneurysm at the age of 35 right on the day of his off-broadway preview of 'Rent'. A musical biography of sorts that works for most parts thanks to excellent performance from Andrew Garfield, its a character that you support despite him being very selfish, and not treating his friends/love with same respect or time as they do. Sometimes I feel if the artists (or most of them, can't be all) actually are like that, and you just have to accept them for that rather than go away from them, atleast for those who are part of their life. Coming back to film, its a flashback story told at a time when Jonathan was busy in workshop of his play 'Superbia', when everything seemed to him was going against him, whether its his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp) who wants to join a job which meant going away from New York, his close friend and room-mate Michael (Robin de Jesus) about to shift to new place, there's this writers block as Jonathan struggles to write a song required for 2nd act of the play and there's this fear of 'I will be 30 soon' giving thoughts of what if all this doesn't work and the 8 yrs long struggle leads to a flop adventure. 

Jonathan is someone who wants to have a song on anything he sees or thinks about, even' Sugar'. A reason why it doesn't come as surprise when an arguement with girlfriend leads him to feel like using that whole scenario as his song in future. That scene is my fav of the film for the way they cut it at same time with 'Therapy' track, because on one hand we got this song enacted in a very comedy manner about complex relationships by Jonathan and Karessa (Vanessa Hudgens, she gives such amazing expressions in this track) and on other hand we are watching Jonathan and Susan having a very serious fight, giving this whole sequence a very strange dramatic emotional tone. 'Boho Days' and 'Come to your Senses' were other two main lovable songs, also I liked  'Swimming' (gorgeous under-water visual of musical notes), '30/90', 'Johnny can't Decide', 'Why' and 'Louder than Words'.  The sub-plot of Aids was little underwhelming for me.. Overall, tick, tick.. BOOM delivers with Andrew Garfield's act, I had issues with him in 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' but in here he was fully satisfying, even his singing was totally upto the mark. Some very good musical numbers to enjoy, plus got to learn a bit about Jonathan Larson I never knew about. 

My Rating : 7/10 

Licorice Pizza

Directed by : Paul Thomas Anderson

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11271038/

You are always thinking things, you thinker! You thinker! You think things!

Story of Alana Kane (Alana Haim) and Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman), former is 25 yrs old girl (or so she says) and latter is a high school 15 yr old boy. They meet, try to date, eventually become friends and later professional partners. Set in San Fernando Valley, California, 1973, the story is mostly about how various events keeps happening in life of Alana and the choices she makes while Gary is most of the times part of it. I enjoyed the first very long sequence that involves Gary hitting out on Alana, making compliments, flirts and eventually asking her for a date which she keeps declining for the obvious agegap. Its a regular scene but the way its shot, the camera handled and the debut lead actors enact makes it very cute and sweet. Unfortunately, after this the movie keeps going in all sort of directions, Gary and Alana will be together one moment, then totally on different routes and then be together again. Kind of gets frustrating plus the various events that happen, be it Alana trying a hand at actress job even if she has to do full nudity or her attempt to join a political workplace, everything feels half baked. Even the cameos of Sean Penn (I literally was waiting for his part to end) and Bradley Cooper were frankly very boring. I did enjoy the lead actors, little early to say if Cooper Hoffman has the same brilliant talent his father used to have, but in this film I did like him. Alana Haim is wonderful too, as a girl who keeps looking for opportunities to make her life better than what it is. Licorice Pizza as a entire story won't work, but if you see it as a coming of age or a story about the growth and learning things as the life goes on for youngish couple then maybe it will give you quite a bit to like. For me it was very underwhelming!

My Rating : 5/10

Encanto

Directed by : Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Charise Castro Smith

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2953050/

Maybe your gift is being in denial? 

A Columbian family, Madrigals stays in a place called Encanto and their house is magical with each member of the family having a magical power except for Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz). When the house starts having cracks, Mirbabel takes it to herself trying to save the family. There's some lovely characters with different magic, one can fill the place with flowers, another can lift heavy objects even a complete church, one controls the weather, another can change into various human getups, one can understand birds/animals language, another can heal people through food and one can see future visions. Its a pretty sweet movie that explores themes of 'Over-expectations' or 'Living in Denial' very well. Where the film does lack is the quality of songs which do keep the narrative going but once the film ends not a single song stays with you. Performances by everyone as voice-overs is very good. The Mirabel and her grandmother part is slightly annoying in parts, or maybe its just the outsider feeling in your own home is something I don't enjoy watching. Disney's Encanto does qualify into my category of films that may not be great but you still feel time well spent. 

My Rating : 6.5/10 

Raya and the Last Dragon

Directed by : Don Hall, Carlos Lopez Estrada, Paul Briggs

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5109280/

The world is broken, you can't trust anyone. 

Maybe it's broken, because you don't trust anyone, you just have to take the first step.

There was a time when Humans and Dragons lived together peacefully in Kumandra, until an evil force known as Druun (purple roundish shaped that turn every living thing into stones) wreck havoc resulting in dragons sacrificing themselves to save the humanity. 500 years later, when the Druun return again, its all about will the Humans unite to face it or they will stay greedy and think about themselves only. Another Disney film that works on an interesting theme 'Trust'. Would you trust someone who betrayed you? Or take a leap of faith because sometimes to fight evil you need to have everyone by your side. The start of film is little overloaded, as through a flashback we are told how humans are living in 5 sections of Kumandra (called Heart, Fang, Spine, Talon and Tail), each of them having a part of the gem. Its the gem which the last dragon living somewhere all hidden used to save the mankind 500 yrs ago. As expected from Humans, they want to get hold of all gems. 

Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran) from 'Heart' takes it to herself to find the last dragon and collect all the gems on the way to get her father and everyone else back who are now stones. Its when Raya meets the last dragon Sisu (voiced by Awkwafina) that the film gets very engaging, a reason being the excellent comic timing of Awkwafina suiting the dragon character to the tee. You feel instant liking for her innocence, the magical powers she possesses everytime one part of gem is given to her and her constant ideas of wanting to send gifts in return of taking gem are often hilarious. But at the heart of it, she is offering the message of how good world would be if we are together and trust each other, rather than developing prejudices resulting in only hatred. This works in the film, felt more like fantasy to me.. because in real world this is next to impossible because Humans don't work that way. Apart from Sisu, Raya is interesting character who is very complex and forms a great bond with Sisu, and later there's the adorable con-artist baby with its three little animals and also the boat guy 'Boun' (voiced by Izaac Wang) and her own pet 'Tuk Tuk' she rides on while travelling. 

The villain or betrayal part played by Namaari (voiced by Gemma Chan) is little boring mostly for the predictability. Again, its a film that isn't great and yet you feel entertained for everything it tries to offer whether its the animation, story or the message. 

My Rating : 6.5/10 

Flee

Directed by : Jonas Poher Rasmussen

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8430054/

Oh my country, you have lost your melody, your voice.

Oh my country, you are in pain and there is no cure. 

An animated documentary that tells the story of Amin Nawabi who is about to get married to his long time boyfriend and feels its time to confront his past. He shares with a close friend, what he went through before arriving in Denmark as a minor refugee. I don't think I have previously seen a movie that was animated as well as documentary, and Flee excels very well in both departments mostly. The tone of interview which Director has with Amin who is his close friend, is very friendly and informal that makes you feel more for Amin as he slowly opens up. He talks about his childhood in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan, his father taken away and then gone missing, his mother, sisters and brothers fleeing to Russia which is in post-Soviet stage, the human trafficking attempts to flee to Sweden where his elder brother lives are some of the painful times he has been through. Oddly, I saw this film at a time when Taliban again took the power in Afghanistan (just last year) and currently the Russia-Ukraine war is on. 

But, Flee isn't just about the struggles caused by the war kind situation.. its also about Amin's love for men which only makes more obstacles as its considered a sin in his country. The most heartbreaking scene probably was when Amin and his family along with many others are stuck on a boat and a passingby ship has people standing there to take their helpless looking pics rather than offering help or the one where Amin knows the fate of the girl in police van but doesn't help (not his fault though, in that situation he would only have ended up with more physical scars). Also, many good use of tracks, I loved the Afghanistan one (Sar zameen-e man) that talks about how my country is in pain and has no cure to it. Lovely use of live-action archive footage at some stages keeps the narrative smooth. 

The only issue I had was that the animation despite creating good emotions has something missing which say a real character based or Amin himelf would had done. But I can't really complain knowing he would had wanted to keep his identity hidden and not risk any more problems when his life is sorted at present. The hand drawn animation I have never been a fan of, is a major reason for pointing this out. Anyways, Flee still successfully showcases the experiences of a refugee or how tough surviving can be for individuals made to go through these times.. and at every point you could feel what Amin went through thanks to a very well thought out narrative. 

My Rating : 7.5/10 

Luca

Directed by : Enrico Casarosa

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12801262/

Some people, they will never accept him. But some will. And he seems to know how to find the good ones.

Set in Italy, the story is about sea creatures, Luca Paguro (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) being one of them always lives a routine life where his parents especially his mother is very protective not wanting him to ever go to the land surface. One day Luca happens to meet another sea creature Alberto Scorfano (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer) who unlike Luca loves going to the land surface. Their bonding eventually leads to them wanting to go to a small human town, Portorossa and participate in a Cup race where the prize would be a Vespa scooter they both dearly want to travel the world. 

I felt the movie was very boring or passable for atleast 20-25 mins until Luca-Alberto enter the human town. From there its a fun ride specially by keeping sea creatures transforming into humans when they are on dry land creates some laughable moments and also dangerous ones. For instance, when Luca's parents arrive in search of him, their only way is by trying to put water on every human kid they see of Luca's age to check if they turn into sea creature. I also enjoyed the bonding Luca-Alberto have with Giulia Marcovaldo (voiced by Emma Berman). I am not sure if there's really any gay subtext or the jealousy we see Alberto has is more to do with close friendship Luca is forming with Giulia that upsets him. Giulia's always hyper mode is fun and so are her 2 worded italian phrases she says often. The villain Ercole Visconti (Saverio Raimondo) is irritating but has very less scenes. The movie never tries to go into dark zone, or explore any possible themes like 'Humans vs Sea Creatures'. Rather its about Luca learning life about humans on land, sun, solar system, and a school where he can learn much more. The practice leading to the race is fun, though the eventual race isn't given that much significance as the story rather keeps focus on the Luca-Alberto bonding all the time. Despite some issues and a very average 1st act, the film makes up for that later on for a decent watch. By the way, I am happy I didn't see this movie in theatre, just for that end credits scene which I am sure I would had stayed back for and get really mad why I waited for this scene!

My Rating : 6/10 

The Mitchells vs The Machines

Directed by : Michael Rianda, Jeff Rowe

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7979580/

Humanity will survive.

You can't survive without me. Watch what happens when I turn off the Wi-Fi. 

A dysfunctional family where Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) has applied for a film school, her brother Aaron Mitchell (voiced by Michael Rianda) being a major dinosaur fan (I wish he was friends with Ross) seeking someone having same likes, her dad Rick Mitchell (voiced by Danny McBride) with whom her relationship has grown apart with time, her mom Linda Mitchell (voiced by Maya Rudolph) who just wants to see her happy and there's a pet dog (or pig or loaf of bread, you will know) Monchi (voiced by Doug The Pug). Katie's dad decides for a car road family trip, more of a forced one while driving Katie to the film school. Its only going to get worse when they will learn about rising of Robots where humans are about to disappear leaving Mitchells as the only family left as the last hope to fight and save humanity. 

I enjoyed the side characters more like Aaron specially his shy mode whenever neighbours girl would come to talk, or Monchi hilariously causing a glitch in the working of Robots, and Pal (voiced by Olivia Colman) asking one of robot to place her (she's a smartphone) on the table so through vibrating she can get her frustrations out. The dad-daughter angle of Katie-Rick was bit of both, at places the emotions works but at places it doesn't. And it doesn't help that the actions are so loud and violent, whether its Katie's short films she made or the sudden powerful mode Linda gets in the final act. Could had got more with Pal's character, that I felt was very limited in her actions. The whole theme of 'How Humans treat technology as everything and above people' these days also isn't explored the way it should had been. Rather we get the humans vs robots excess fight scenes! Still A decent timepass animation movie, just fails to satisfy me. 

My Rating : 5.5/10 

Four Good Days 

Directed by : Rodrigo Garcia

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10344522/

I just want now to be now. The way it is for kids, or animals, plants. 

Being an addict  for 10 years and visited detox house 14 times, Molly (Mila Kunis) knocks at the door of her mother's Deb (Glenn Close) house to seek help and get clean. As expected Deb initially suspects its another routine case of Molly who would try to steal money to get high like she always done, but eventually Deb decides to help Molly and the doctor suggests a magical shot that would keep Molly fine for a month only if she can stay sober for next 4 days. The film explores all the moods and struggles an addict goes through, however it keeps it very light in a way that the proceedings stay very one note and you never get any shock value or say hard-hitting moments as a movie on drug addiction demands. There's even a forced like scene where Molly is seen preaching teens about what a mess her life became just because she never could resist the feeling of getting high. I do liked the soft background theme that runs a lot throughout the narrative, and Deb-Molly relationship is good to see too however I would had liked more of them maybe through flashbacks or something else because here it was just Deb all the 4 days worried when Molly would do the mistake and ruin another chance. Basically, 'Four Good Days' is more about to find out whether Molly succeeds by the end of 4 days or its going to be nothing again. Its a watchable movie, not totally gripping, just the characters needed more detailing to let those emotions flow. Mila Kunis and Glenn Close do their best though with their performances to keep you engaged. 

My Rating : 5/10 

The Hand of God 

Directed by : Paolo Sorrentino 

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12680684/

What a shitty world this is. 

You go buy dessert and when you get back your husband's in jail.

Set in 1980s Naples, its a coming of age story about a young boy Fabietto Schisa (Filippo Scotti) who goes through a tragedy losing his parents. A very strange beginning to the film and I knew this won't be my kind of film, got tempted many times to stop watching, it was almost midway when Fabietto goes through loss and the drama gets interesting with him trying to discover himself. Even then it was still a hit and miss with not everything really keeping me hooked. The only plus points I found were, firstly the locales of Italy shown are eye-catching, there's little but sweet bonding of Fabietto and the guy he becomes friend with, or the entire conversation of why Fabietto wanna be film-maker and lastly the scenes of Diego Maradona whose famous goals are shown though I felt the use of his scenes hardly does anything to the story development in any way.  The Hand of God just fails to make any impression on me! 

My Rating : 3/10