Quick Views - Oscar 2022 Films Part1

When the Oscar Noms were out, I had not seen even one of the films nominated. Here's my quick views on all the films. Some deserved to be there, and some are as always poor picks for reasons only the academy knows. 

Spoilers ahead.. 

Don't Look Up

Directed by : Adam Mckay

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11286314/

We really did have everything, didn't we? I mean, when you think about it. 

Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student along with her professor Dr Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) discover a comet that is on direct collision course with Earth and there's only some months time left to do something or the planet Earth will be destroyed. The probem however is, when Kate and Dr Mindy go on to warn people, no one cares, and that includes the President Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her son, also the Chief of Staff, Jason Orlean (Jonah Hill), or the media where Brie Evantee (Cate Blanchett) one of the host that interviews both Kate-Dr Mindy, is rather more interested in her growing lust for Dr Mindy and even makes out by asking him to say the words 'We are going to die'.

Usually satire dark comedy movies are my favourites, this one didn't really entertain me. Possible reasons could be that it got tiring to see crazy President, media and citizens all unwilling to open their eyes and see the disaster coming their way. I feel maybe director went little overboard with the concept, though I do agree many people exist who are this crazy to ignore a simple warning given to them from professionals. Think the intention was to draw parallels with global warming, you could also connect same movie with 'Covid idiots' (ones who believed Covid was never real, who knows if those ppl still live in the delusion). The craze people have over celebrities than any other important news is pretty well captured though it was irritating to watch for obvious reasons. 

Both Meryl and Jonah (who I believe were portraying Donald Trump and his Chief of Staff) felt hammy to me. I enjoyed Leonardo a lot and so did Jennifer who clearly was a character that echoes most of us viewing this film as to why the hell people are so ignorant. However the show stealer for me was Mark Rylance whose dialogue delivery style was so hilarious that for a moment I had to pause the film and think if he's really doing that. I am happy that his prediction over death of President Orlean turned true and Dr Randall one didn't. One complaint I had was over editing, the abrupt cutting off a scene that hasn't finished to move to next happens way too often, if its a style he follows then certainly it effected my movie viewing too often. Overall, 'Don't Look Up' gives some good laughs but its very underwhelming given the great starcast it boasted off, I certainly wanted lot more than what I got. 

My Rating : 6/10 

The Power of the Dog

Directed by : Jane Campion

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10293406/

Bronco Henry told me that a man was made by patience in the odds against him. 

Set in 1925, with the backdrop of Montana where brothers Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Burbank (Jesse Plemons) own a cattle ranch. During one of their cattle drives, while dining at a restaurant they come across waitress Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst) and her son Peter Gordon (Kodi Smit-McPhee). George soon falls in love with Rose and marries her, but Phil who hardly likes anyone isn't happy when Rose comes to their place after marriage. Rose has no idea how badly her and her son's life may get affected with the non-accepting nature of Phil. 

I liked the initial scenes of Rose and George, also the drive one when they are heading home. It felt like the movie will keep their relation going rather the plot shifts totally towards Phil's equation with Rose eventually leading to her mental state being disturbed while George almost goes missing for large portion. The Peter-Phil bonding didn't really work for me. Infact Benedict Cumberbatch for once I found very boring. Every year there's always one film that despite being a well made movie never clicks for me like it does with others, for instance 'The Theory of Everything', 'Moonlight', '1917', 'Nomadland' to name a few, and 'The Power of Dog' joins that list. Overrated to my liking, though happy its not got a high rating at Imdb. Except for the 1st act and that too in patches, I couldn't enjoy or feel anything in this film. 

My Rating : 3/10 

Being the Ricardos

Directed by : Aaron Sorkin

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4995540/

I am Lucille Ball. When I am being funny, you will know it. 

A biopic that follows lives of  Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and her husband Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) when they are shooting for their famous show 'I Love Lucy' at a time when Lucille is pregnant and wants that included in the final episodes of the show. There's also a newspaper article that has termed Lucy as a communist which may effect everyone's lives and also a matter of Lucille feeling that Desi is having an affair. I really enjoyed watching all behind the scenes we are shown of the 'I Love Lucy' show where Lucille tries to dominate and control the proceedings. Its fun watching how she in her mind creates those black and white visualisation of the scene, how she gets so picky to have a scene done the way she wants. Also, the sexism at display and this being a 1950s based movie, a time when clearly women who won't try to say something won't be able to put over their point which clearly Lucille was doing. Unfortunately though, whenever the narrative went towards Lucille-Desi marriage, or their flashbacks, it just felt too average and dull. I don't know if its the writing to blame entirely, or maybe Javier Bardem wasn't right choice to play Desi. Nicole Kidman though was very good, even if I won't say it was among her great performances of past. Overall, 'Being the Ricardos' works in patches mainly the television drama and creative arguements that take place between leads, supporting actors, producers and the directors, maybe the entire story could had stayed on it only. 

My Rating : 5/10 

Coming 2 America 

Directed by : Craig Brewer 

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6802400/

Walk your own path. Be not the prince of Zamunda. Be the prince from Queens.

Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) goes to America with Semmi (Arsenio Hall) after learning he has a son (bastard son as they call it) Lavelle Junson (Jermaine Fowler). Akeem's father recent demise means he will be the new king of Zamunda and the throne of new prince as per their outdated rules can't go to his 3 daughters so its important to find his son Lavelle and avoid the threat of General Izzi (Wesley Snipes) who would rather wanna take the place. I haven't seen the original film whose sequel this is. There are some funny scenes, mostly involving Lavelle specially when he comes to Zamunda and tries to fit in or learn what tests he has to pass to become a Princi that involves a walk, a tiger sequence and much more. Lets be clear, from the first scene onwards you can see its a very bad film, yet it had in it to be a guilty pleasure film if not for too many of gross scenes or humour that just is hard to enjoy. The love angle of Lavelle with hairstylist is predictable but still gives some nice moments. Morgan Freeman special appearance is very forgetabble and the daughter of General Izzi I am not sure what that was, kind of speechless. Maybe I would give the original movie a chance in future, this one is easily avoidable if you haven't seen yet. 

My Rating : 2.5/10 

Cruella

Directed by : Craig Gillespie 

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3228774/

They say there are five stages of grief. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Well, I would like to add one more. Revenge. 

Estella (Emma Stone), since teenage time wanted to be a fashion designer. At 12 after losing her mother, she reaches London and befriends two amateur thieves Jasper (Joel Fry) and Holace (Paul Walter Hauser). After 10 years, with help of Jasper.. Estella lands herself a chance to work at a popular fashion designing place and later on leading to work with The Baroness (Emma Thompson). Just when it looked like she was winning the heart of her new boss, she learns about a deep secret related to her mother's death and her alter ego Cruella De Vil is born who will leave no stone unturned to seek revenge. 

Its an interesting film, one that I didn't feel I would like, having no idea about who Cruella was so it was a new territory for me. We see Estella with half head hairs white and other half black, and then her new name having 'De Vil' aka 'Devil'. The way Cruella sabotages every fashion event of The Baroness is fun and stylish specially that garbage sequence. But it all comes at the expense of not caring for the loved ones, as both Jasper and Holace could feel Estella has changed a lot. Revenge comes at a price, making Cruella dislikeable character even when we are enjoying her little wins over The Baroness. Emma Stone does a commendable job, while Emma Thompson on the  other hand was so so for me, didn't quite work out. The costumes and songs choices were another plus point of the movie. Overall, Cruella is one of those films that you will like and dislike at same time, good enough though to pass time.

My Rating : 6/10 

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Directed by : Michael Showalter 

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9115530/

And remember, never forget it. You know what I am going to say. God loves you. He really, really, really does. 

A biopic on the televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker (Jessica Chastain) that shows her rise and eventual fall into PTL scandals and much more. One of those films that I saw to know a part of history rather than actually been interested in it with all the God religion angle. For me both lead characters were very dislikeable, Tammy atleast shows human side on many occasions, specially the aids scene or her views towards the LGBT that is brought out often. Also, you can't help but feel its her blind faith in her husband Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield) that mostly resulted in the life she had because he clearly all the while was interested to be on camera and become wealthy with the 'God wants' angle always a joke or atleast it appeared so. Jessica was highly unrecognisable for me in this role, and even though I love her a lot.. I still feel this isn't the film I would had liked her to win Oscar. On the other hand Andrew Garfield for once was highly irritating, and again its not his performance issues but a character that you just don't wish to see at all. 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' is watchable, its just not a film that I could like. 

My Rating : 4/10 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Directed by : Destin Daniel Cretton

Imdb link ->https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9376612/

Lead with your breathe. Look into your heart, the light and the dark. To know yourself, you must face them both.

Xu Wenwu (Tony Chiu-Wai Leung) leads an organisation called Ten Rings and always lusts for more power until he meets Li (Fala Chen) falling in love at first sight. But Li's death one day makes Wenwu return to his old ways even more deadly than before seeking revenge of his wife's death. Wenwu's children Shaun (Simu Liu) and Xialing (Meng'er Zhang) grow apart from him, while Shaun along with his friend Katy (Awkwafina) work as a valet. Wenwu sends his men to find Shaun as he believes Li is still alive and kept trapped by her own people in a place called Ta Lo. 

Two action sequences totally standout, one is where Wenwu meets Li first time resulting in a martial arts kind duel.. have to admit it reminded a lot of the Baahubali scene between Prabhas and Tamannah but this one worked lot better for me specially because Wenwu who felt immortal finally met someone with more powers than him. And other scene ofcourse is the bus one where Shaun fights with men of his father and Katy learns the real identity of Shaun. Sadly, the rest action sequences comes nowhere close and the climax was a total misfire for me. The story however works a lot, whether its the part where both Shaun and his sister Xialing feel neglected eventually leading them to run away at a teen age from their home. Or the part where Shaun feels changing name is enough to run away from his family or how Shaun's aunt Ying Nan (a brilliant Michelle Yeoh) tells him how he has to let go things to really succeed. 

The scenes between Li and young Shaun are very touching and play key role to the emotional side of the movie. Simu Liu is good as the first Asian lead of MCU universe, though he doesn't have that screen presence or confidence I would have liked but I will still give him chance in future films. Awkwafina is hilarious and too good, she reminds me of Michael Pena from Antman, the energy way I mean. Though I found that last scene where Shaun is welcomed to the Avengers along with Katy as pretty stupid, I mean she hardly did anything and that arrow shoot was just a fluke. Aneways,  its Tony Chiu-Wai Leung who steals the show, in every frame he is so good in displaying all variety of emotions, I felt bad that he had to die in the end, he may have gone wrong direction but in love everyone does it, wish they kept him alive. Overall, Shang-Chi is a good addition to the MCU universe, minus a very poor CGI based final fight that ruined the movie a little, still entertaining enough to be seen and certainly better than Captain Marvel.. I will still rate it below Doctor Strange (yet to see Black Widow). 

My Rating : 6.5/10

Cyrano 

Directed by : Joe Wright

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12889404/

Have you ever wanted something so badly you cannot breathe? Have you ever loved someone madly?

Cyrano de Bergerac (Peter Dinklage) is not only brilliant at swordplay but is wonderful with words coming up with great poems. He has always been in love with his friend Roxanne (Haley Bennett) but always feels he's not good looking to get her approval. Finally he decides to tell his feelings only to find Roxanne herself has fallen in love at first sight with Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr) who is a new recruit in Cyrano's guardsmen. I haven't seen this play or read the story before, but the main plot of a friend helping another guy get the girl they both love has been done many times. Yet that scene where Cyrano is so happy and excited only to be heartbroken moments later works wonderfully. Infact Peter Dinklage performance was worthy of a Oscar nomination, maybe its his singing that let that not happen, otherwise his acting and expressions of a person in deep love were very spot on. 

My issues with film rather was firstly the story post the death of Christian, it kind of goes nowhere and that end didn't work for me even if thats how its in the play. And other main problem I had was the backdrop of war and battle looming, that just wasn't used in a way that it keeps the romantic plot going. Also, what was that scene where Cyrano gets through a army of men without getting killed. And I get the point behind that long song of the men at war reading the letters of their loved ones (a kind of Sandhey se aate hai from Border), but in a film that has Cyrano-Roxanne-Christian love story, this track just feels like a hiccup more than to invoke feelings. I enjoyed Haley Bennett act, while Kelvin was so-so to me. In a musical, the songs need to be really good.. here they work well with the narrative specially 'Madly' and 'Wherever I fall' but they aren't tracks you would otherwise listen to.  Cyrano is a decent watch, that mainly works for Peter Dinklage performance. 

My Rating : 5.5/10 

Spencer

Directed by : Pablo Larrain

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12536294/

Well here, there is only one tense. There is no future. The past and the present are the same thing. 

Its 1991, Christmas weekend when Diana Spencer (Kristen Stewart) who has been struggling with her mental health joins the Royal family at their Norfolk estate. The entire plot revolves around Diana feeling trapped and not willing to go through all the routines that one expects from her, whether its about what dress at what time of the day she must wear, what she must eat, where she must go or not go etc etc. At one stage her husband even warns her to get her act together and try to manage 2 lives because thats the only way to survive. I personally felt very tired watching Diana throughout the movie go through what she does, from her hallucinations to the unsuccessful attempts to breakfree, and also I wasn't fully sold by the performance of Kristen Stewart though some of that has to do with the fact that I have never seen Princess Diana footage in real before. If you are able to manage these 2 issues then most likely Spencer will work a lot better for you. The scenes of Diana with her children were kind of respite I wanted, giving some nice lighthearted moments. Mostly I prefer a biopic that rather shows a particular event of person's life then show the entire span in chronological order but Spencer still ends up as a mediocre movie for me. 

My Rating : 5/10 

Free Guy

Directed by : Shawn Levy 

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6264654/

Don't have a good day, have a great day. 

Guy (Ryan Reynolds) lives a same loop kind of life starting from waking up to greeting the fish Goldie to choosing a blue shirt, some routine happenings on the way to bank where he works that ultimately results into heist scenario. He is happy with his friend Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) until a chance encounter happens with Millie (Jodie Comer) when he feels she is the girl he had been all the time dreaming of his entire life. But, Guy is not aware yet that he is actually a NPC (non playing character) and its a video game 'Free City' he is living his life in, not a real world. 

I quite enjoyed the movie mainly for Ryan Reynolds who always cracks you up whether he is playing Deadpool or not. Also, the other star of movie is Jodie Comer who is brilliant in every frame whether its the part she plays inside the game or the real world where she is trying to prove that the game actually has her and her friend Keys (Joe Keery) codes used without any mention by Antwan (Taika Waititi) for whom Keys actually works for now. Taika Waititi was highly irritating character for me and Joe Keery I felt got too sidelined as a result his romantic angle never really worked for me. Another issue I found was the film doesn't try to tackle the toxic environment these kind of games have, rather presents it as something fun and entertaining to enjoy. I am not much into Gaming or specially these kind of simulation games, so did felt little confused at places. Yet, I won't deny Free Guy is a good movie to sit through, some of the visual effects are appealing, jokes on Hulk-Captain America comeby too, a wonderful action sequence involving Guy and Millie on bike, plus there are few moving moments too involving Guy specially. 

My Rating : 6.5/10

Movie Analysis : The Guilty (Both Versions) (Netflix)

The Guilty (English version)

Directed by : Antoine Fuqua

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9421570/

Broken people save broken people.

Spoilers ahead... 

About a demoted police officer Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) assigned to a call dispatch desk who gets an emergency call from a kidnapped woman. 

Set in Los Angeles and the backdrop of California wildfires making the office proceedings more lively where basically the entire story takes place with us not shown the faces on the other side of the call.

Its a very edge of the seat thriller, because like Joe you do believe that the kidnapped woman is in trouble but at same time you are also wondering a twist may come yet its pretty tough to guess what we do get in the final act. 

I like the added touch of Joe trying to interact with his wife on phone regarding saying good night to his daughter and then his phone lock having her daughter's picture while he talks to the kidnapped woman or that woman's girl later on adds more to the emotional layer. 

Oddly, what made the film work less for me was Jake Gyllenhaal. He always is a reason to watch movies but here he played this character with over expressive anger. 

The twist works perfectly for me, and so did the other actors involved in the phone conversations. The court hearing looming over Joe next day is also well inserted in to add more drama.

The Guilty is a good watch, probably you would like it more than me if you don't mind the way Jake plays this role. 

My Rating : 5.5/10

The Guilty (Danish version)

Directed by : Gustav Moller

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6742252/

He kept crying because he had snakes in his stomach. I just took them out. 

The demoted police officer here is Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren) and rest of the plot or even the conversations are same as the English version. This is the original movie though. 

The setting here is very minimal, so much so that there's hardly much happening at the office workplace until ofcourse the kidnapped woman's call arrives. There's no mention of Asger's wife or children which does slightly effect the scene where Asger talks to the kidnapped women's girl.

Its Jakob Cedergren who makes this a better watch, he plays the character with same amount of anger inside but always restraining it. You could rather see it in his eyes way he emotes whenever he feels a strong emotion. A reason why he admitting his Guilt regarding the court hearing case next day work a lot with all the office staff around listening in shock, whereas in English version, Jake didn't admit to it in front of them all. 

This one also has a much darker ending because of a certain person not able to escape death. The fact that they never show any of those horrofic visuals makes it even better as you just can't help but think about it when it happened. 

Despite the less chaos or a backdrop setting, there's lot more to enjoy in this original version of The Guilty. 

My Rating : 7/10

Mini Review : Sooryavanshi (Netflix)

Directed by : Rohit Shetty

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9531772/

Kabhi kabhi sochta hoon Sir ki kaash ek hi dharm ek hi upar wala hota toh shayad yeh sab nahi hota.

Hota! Hum insaan ladh marne ke liye koi na koi aur bahana dhoondh hi nikaal lete.

Spoilers ahead... 

The chief of Anti Terrorism Squad, DCP Veer Sooryavanshi (Akshay Kumar) takes up the challenge of stopping a 1993 kind situation with terrorists wanting to wreck havoc again in Mumbai.

Usually I like when the antagonist part is strong and given good importance, but here the entire Omar Hafeez (Jackie Shroff), Bilal Ahmed (Kumud Mishra) and Riyaaz Hafeez (Abhimanyu Singh) plot felt so non-interesting. Kumud and Abhimanyu do try their best but the characters just don't get the kind of story you would want.  Maybe a scene of what led them to do what they did in 93 or the Masjid demolition would had added lot more. Also, I never get why terrorists name need to be changed from Dawood/Tiger ?

The end result is that Akshay Kumar part feels too rushed to my liking, he doesn't really get proper buildup that say Ajay got in Singham or even Ranveer in Simmba. Yet,  its commendable how Akshay still keeps you very engaged throughout his scenes. 

Felt very disappointed how Jaaved Jaaferi (Kabir Shroff) gets totally sidelined in what was possibly a very good serious role he had got.

Also, co-incidences happen too often in this movie, like Bilal and cops at same funeral place. Then there's the weird song insertion - You just set up a terror situation where Sooryavanshi is ready to tackle it however tough it maybe. And then you follow it up with a flashback of Sooryavanshi with Ria dancing on the tunes of 'Tip Tip Barsa Paani', yes I get it that she looks damn sexy and beautiful in it but atleast have some sense of placing the song. 

In the end its the banter of Ajay, Ranveer and Akshay in the final 20 so minutes that is a joy to watch and probably the best part of the movie, sadly it comes way too late.

Sooryavanshi is more of a timepass movie than a good addition to the Cop Universe. Singham still stays Rohit's best cop movie by some huge margin.

My Rating : 5.5/10

Oscars 2022 : Predictions

One of rare occasions when I had seen 0 films when the Oscar 2022 nominations were out. And also one of rare times when I ended up watching all films that got nominated (minus the Documentary and Short Film categories).

A quick few lines views on all the films I will be posting in few days time. For now about to tell my predictions on who will win and who I wish rather wins. This time around I am not posting the snubs as I have seen very few non-Oscar nominated movies.

Refer to the nominations list here - https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022

And the Oscar goes to .. 

BEST PICTURE 

Will Win : The Power of Dog

Should Win : Coda

Some of the films like Nightmare Alley, Don't Look Up and Licorice Pizza surprised me to be even there nominated. The Power of Dog, I found very average too but it looks like front-runner. I will so love 'Coda' to win, or even 'Belfast' would be a pleasant surprise. 

BEST ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE 

Will Win/Should Win : Will Smith (King Richard)

Although I want Andrew Garfield to win for tick, tick... BOOM!, Will Smith was easily the best of all the nominees by a huge margin. Please, no Benedict!

 

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE 

Will Win : Kristen Stewart (Spencer)

Should Win : Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos)

To be honest this is one category where I didn't enjoy any of the nominated performances to the fullest, infact my personal choice would be Lady Gaga for 'House of Gucci'. Aneways, most likely it will be between Kristen or Olivia. Give it to Nicole or Penelope please!

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE 

Will Win/Should Win : Troy Kotsur (Coda)

It has to be Troy, though I am little torn wanting Ciaran Hinds (Belfast) to win too. Rest of  the nominees, a huge no!

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE 

Will Win : Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Should Win : Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter)

Even though West Side Story didn't work for me, I liked Ariana performance a lot, infact more than the leads. Yet, I would prefer Jessie to win, again it was a case of me liking her act lot more than the lead Olivia. Judi I believe has no chance, that final scene of her's was so good but not enough to get her an oscar. Aunjanue was also very good in King Richard.. Kirsten Dunst I hope doesn't win, her character kind of goes in directions that made me not enjoy her act that initally was pretty good. 

BEST DIRECTOR 

Will Win : Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Should Win : Kenneth Branagh (Belfast) 

I seriously don't understand the hype over 'The Power of the Dog', even its Imdb rating is below 7. Kenneth would be great to see win, or Ryusuke Hamaguchi for 'Drive my Car' I would prefer even if I had some issues with the movie.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Will Win : Encanto

Should Win : Flee 

Flee was a very emotional animated documentary, a kind I saw for first time. The other animation films were more of timepass, good fun, but none was terrific enough for me. 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM 

Will Win : Drive My Car (Japan)

Should Win : Lunana : A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan)

I wish Lunana could win, it was such a simple yet heart-touching movie. But almost 100% sure it would be Drive My Car taking Oscar here. 

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE) 

Will Win/Should Win : Hans Zimmer (Dune)

Its funny when your favourite always wins Oscar for a work you find not their best, for instance Leonardo winning for 'The Revenant'. Similarly, Hans Zimmer in Dune I felt was far from his best, yet he is most likely to win mostly because the other nominees don't really pose any competition. 

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

Will Win : Dos Oruguitas (Encanto)

Should Win : No Time To Die (No Time To Die)

Usually its a very tough category, this time around far easy because only Dos Oruguitas and No Time To Die stand out.. personally I prefer Billie Eilish very well rendered version of 'No Time To Die', but at the same time I liked spanish track 'Dos Oruguitas' too specially for its tragic love story portrayed in the lyrics.

BEST WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

Will Win : Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter)

Should Win : Sian Heder (Coda)

I won't mind Maggie winning, but the heart wants Coda to take this specially knowing its got very few oscar nominations. 

BEST WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

Will Win/Should Win : Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)

Definately should be winning, 'The Worst Person in the World' has a chance too, any other winning would be a disappointment. 

BEST EDITING 

Will Win : Pamela Martin (King Richard)

Should Win : Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum (Tick, Tick.. Boom!)

Pamela likely winner here, surprise me with Tick Tick Boom that clearly had the best editing! 

BEST SOUND 

Will Win/Should Win : West Side Story

I belong to the section that didn't like Sound Editing and Sound Mixing category getting combined. Aneways, West Side Story is my pick here, though I am kind of leaning towards Dune too. 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Will Win/Should Win : Greig Fraser (Dune)

Straightforward pick it was, and I hope for Oscars it is too. There is competition from both 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' and 'West Side Story'. 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Will Win/Should Win : Nightmare Alley 

Its the only thing other than the supporting cast performances that I liked about Nightmare Alley. There's a huge possibility that Dune might steal away the Oscar here. No chance for rest nominees.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN 

Will Win : Cruella

Should Win : West Side Story 

The movie based on costumes makes Cruella as top contender, I personally prefer West Side Story which is lot more eye-catching.

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING 

Will Win : The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Should Win : Dune 

Even Cruella has a chance, but 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' looks likely the winner. 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Will Win/Should Win : Dune

What is 'No Time To Die' and 'Free Guy' even doing here? Spiderman is the only competitor here, but feel Dune should get the Oscar. 

Mini Review : Satyameva Jayate 2 (Amazon Prime)

Directed by : Milap Zaveri

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10739666/

Gandhiji ki hamesha jai ho, lekin Bhagat Singh mera banda hai.

Two twin brothers, Satya and Jay (John Abraham) fight against corruption and injustice against common people or women in their own ways. 

Over the top superhero level action, ear bleeding dialogues, patriotism presented in absurd possible manners and songs coming in at any random moment.. Now, multiply these by three times, thats the exaggeration limit this film crosses. 

There's a scene where the cop Jay is fighting a eve-teaser at some Independence event and suddenly national anthem starts running making our patriot guy stand silently while the guys are hitting him (why didn't they aim for his head, Oops Thor fans). Or the father of Satya and Jay, Dadasaheb (also John Abraham) is fighting guys in hospital with one hand while other is transferring blood to his wife. I seriously don't know how writers write this crap. 

We get to see 3 John Abraham, and all are so resembling to each other, like they have the same personality and ofcourse same physical looks, doesn't matter if one is a home minister or a farmer or a cop. The less said about Divya Khosla acting the better. 

Not gonna waste more time, almost every scene can be ripped apart. Some films are so bad that they work as comedy, but this one is a plain torture. And whosoever liked this film, I am sorry I am gonna judge you for your taste. 

My Rating : 0/10 

Movie Analysis : Shershaah (Amazon Prime)

Directed by : Vishnu Vardhan

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10295212/

Main tiranga lehra ke aayun, nahi toh usmein lipat ke aayunga.. lekin aayunga zaroor haan. 

Spoilers ahead ... 

Based on the life of Captain Vikram Batra (Sidharth Malhotra), a brave Indian Army Officer who got awarded with Param Vir Chakra for his courageous actions during the 1999 Kargil War. 

Felt like the cue given to the director was, go somewhere in between Border and URI. As a result, Shershaah isn't melodramatic but it doesn't keep entire focus on war either.  I do like how they show Vikram Batra philosophy when facing enemy, always ready to take them down at cost of his own life though it also results in situations where he puts others and civilians lives in danger. However, I wish they showed more about Vikram, surely his personality wasn't limited to this. 

His equation with parents or for that matter twin brother is never given importance and its hard to understand why they hide his brother face who is the narrator like we don't know about it. 

Two particular war scenes I loved, one was where Vikram leads team to catch terrorist Haider which does give you a dejavu of 'Zero Dark Thirty' capture of Osama to some extent but I will still take it. Other was the strategised mission where the code name of Vikram was 'Shershaah' that happens in two parts and you wish he didn't insist on going for the 2nd one or he would had been alive but then such is life. 

One good thing is there's no unwanted caricature Pakistan characters or jingoism shown to please audience. Liked the use of real footage of Vikram where he tells about how he responded to the warning of Pakistani while climbing the hill. Also, use of Atal Bihari Vajpayee speech part was almost a given. What the film does lack however is building up the tension through use of media scenes or even whats going at the other side on Pakistan streets.

I couldn't really love any actor playing role of senior or junior to Vikram, not because they acted poor but they just got very little screen-time to make any sort of impact. Then, there's that unwanted scene where one is talking about his daughter to Vikram, and you can't help but feel they are gonna kill him very soon, again the point is what's the need of this scene or this particular story!

Vikram-Dimple romantic plot was touching, emotional but with flaws. Major issue was the cringy punjabi dialogues they speak which spoils the otherwise very good chemistry Sid-Kiara have here. There's a cute moment when Vikram is for first time noticed by Dimple and how he reacts after that feeling very delighted. And their final scene works lot more because as a viewer you know it will be their last face to face talk which they don't know then. However, I wish the manipulative 'Kabhi tumhe' track wasn't inserted there. I did love the use of 'Ranjha' track which is my personal favourite from the album beautifully showing the love between Vikram and Dimple. And that is a reason why 'Raatan Lambiyan' track was also misplaced and should had been edited out. 

Won't say Sidharth Malhotra was perfectly casted, but he did a fairly good job at playing Vikram Batra, meanwhile Kiara Advani is adorable and shines when she gets the chances like the burst out scene at her father telling she would marry no one else if not for Vikram. 

I didn't cry at any scene, but did feel moved by the post Vikram death scenes with the song 'Mann Bharryaa' making a great impact. I always feel that whole ceremony how its carried out ends up evoking strong emotions. 

Despite all the mentioned problems, Shershaah is still a good movie, it just isn't what I was hoping for after all the hype. Maybe Vikram-Dimple angle or for that matter Vikram Batra bravery itself deserved a far better movie. 

My Rating : 6/10 

Movie Analysis : Mimi (Netflix)

Directed by : Laxman Utekar

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10895576/

Hum jo sochte hai woh zindagi nahi hoti hai, hamare saath jo hota hai woh zindagi hoti hai. 

Spoilers ahead... 

Mimi Rathod (Kriti Sanon), a small town girl from Rajasthan has big dreams of making it big in the Bollywood industry of Mumbai. She is running out of patience from the small amount of money earned through regular dance shows. And enters Bhanu Pratap Pandey (Pankaj Tripathi), a driver who offers Mimi to act as surrogate for an American Couple, John-Summer (Aidan Whytock - Evelyn Edwards) and in return get a heavy sum of 20 lakhs. Everything is going as per plan until the American couple backout and run away back to their country. 

The premise tries to tackle surrogacy and single parenthood to some extent mostly through light humor and succeeds for most of the 1st half. It is the 2nd half where the overdose of melodrama specially the final 30 mins where the narrative derails with very minimal humor. The issue with a film tackling serious topic in a comic manner often is that most of the times you may not actually feel for the characters the way you would want in the emotional scenes. Same happens here, the end is predictable and I was hoping actually they won't go the 'American Couple' returns back to get their child which unfortunately they do. 

Another main issue is how the struggle of Mimi is quickly shown through a montage kind 'Rihaayi De' track, you just don't get to see her go through it. Again it has to do with probably how light they wanted the film to be, which as a result has effected the film. 

While 'Yaane Yaane' and 'Rihaayi De' were great to listen to, you can feel this isn't Rahman at his best at all. 

Few of comic scenes really stand out, like one where Mimi tells her parents that Bhanu is her husband, and the epic chaos scene later when Bhanu's real wife and mother visits Mimi's house. 

Kriti Sanon does deliver a great performance, probably best of her career so far, as even when the writing is falling apart she holds herself in many scenes, and you can feel her anger towards the American Couple or when she scolds a random bike guy for almost hitting her child. Pankaj Tripathi is spot on yet again, his comic timing is out of the world, his scene with maulvi made it hard for me to control my laughter. Even in the serious scenes with Kriti he is a treat to watch. Also, special mention to how foreign actors looked part of the film rather than looking jokers like mostly happens in our films. 

Sai Tamhankar as Mimi's best friend and Sheikh Ishaque Mohammad as one of Mimi's father's student were other notable performances. Manoj Pahwa and Supriya Pathak were totally wasted, it almost felt like they were the most convincable parents to live on earth. 

Mimi is a good watch, entertaining 1st half but it just needed a better treatment and writing to avoid all the hiccups it has specially in the 2nd half. 

My Rating : 6.5/10