Movie Analysis : Causeway

Directed by : Lila Neugebauer

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10192406/

It would just be nice to have someone around. Have coffee together in the morning. You know, smoke in the evening. Cook together sometimes.

Spoilers ahead..

Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence) suffers a severe brain injury when she's deployed at war in Afghanistan. Still suffering from PTSD, she returns back to her home, a place she doesn't want to be. Soon she befriends a mechanic shop owner James (Brian Tyree Henry) who himself has been dealing with a past he can't let go.

A very simple straightforward screenplay that has very less to offer in terms of story, which is its plus point and also becomes its drawback. I can understand the slow pace and very less action happening because the main lead is in the phase of life where she is trying to recover and it doesn't help that she has a mom (dyfunctional) that hardly cares. But the movie totally lacks conflict, and the only one that comes feels very un-necessary spoiling the good friendship Lynsey and James were having. 

Both Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry deliver good performances which is why despite many silent scenes, the movie didn't feel like a bore. Could possibly had shown Lynsey's life before she joined the war, or early childhood days showing why she dislikes being at home. 

The prison scene with her brother was nice one, even with no character development it hits the sentimental tone it was acquiring. I also love the scene when James tells Lynsey he just misses someone to be around at his big lonely house. The decision to not show the incident Lynsey had, rather just hear out from her the exact account how it happened, was a good one. 

In the end, Causeway is a slow likeable movie, but with minimal drama and conflicts, it just never goes beyond that. 

My Rating : 6/10

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 : Thank God (Amazon Prime)

Directed by : Indra Kumar

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13795296/

Jab ek joke pe baar baar hass nahi sakte, toh ek gham pe baar baar rote kyun ho.

Spoilers ahead... 

Ayaan Kapoor (Sidharth Malhotra) a greedy real estate broker has suffered immense losses since the Demonitisation and now is in so many debts. He meets with an accident and finds himself at a place where Yamdooth/YD (Mahesh Balraj) and Chitragupta/CG (Ajay Devgn) greet him informing that the only way he can return back is by playing 'TheGame of Life'. The rules are simple, there are two empty pots (paap aur punya), for every right reaction to a given situation white balls fills up the punya pot, otherwise the black balls fills up the paap pot. The one that fills first decides his fate. 

Felt like it was one of those films Sidharth Malhotra signed for money and just sleepwalked through the film. You can't really blame him for how stupid the film is. I am all for moral and social messages through a movie but you have to make it believable.  

You know how in school a teacher scolds a student and that student promises he won't do it again, but next day the history repeats. Watching Ayaan you feel the same way because it never appears that he is changing, its like he says for the sake giving those expressons of 'You are so right CG' and just wants to get those white balls and get the hell out of here. Take for instance the scene where Ayaan has to tell his sister about the Diwali incident lie that happened 15 yrs back, instead of feeling guilty and informing on his own, he is forced to tell due to this Dad including saying exact words his Dad says, so basically nothing comes out of his own heart. 

So the whole thing the movie is based on never works, and by the time those twists at the end comes it is way too late to really feel sympathy for Ayaan. The story has a old school feel, with the whole Yamdhoot-Chitragupta angle (I remember one of Jitendra films was on it and that was very funny with a plot revolving more on how YD-CG find lifestyle on earth when the hell goes for a strike, or another relatable good movie was the Sanjeev Kapoor one where he was so greedy that he challenges God). Yet if the director and the writing team aimed for a different execution, this would had been a enjoyable comedy drama. 

Kiku Sharda scene made me laugh the most, and also Sumit Gulati scene was a nice one too. Also, Ajay Devgan felt he was enjoying being part of a bad film giving some laughs. Music was other best thing of the movie, I actually watched the film due to the 'Manike' track that I love a lot though its picturisation is very vulgar. Also, Dil De Diya Hai new version was pretty enjoyable too. The background score however was highly manipulative forcefully trying to make you react. 

The list of cringeworthy moments is a long one, the police inspector scene standsout (both Ayaan and Ruhi (Rakul Preet Singh) versions, tough to choose which was worst). 

Overall, Thank God is what you would say when the movie ends. 

My Rating : 3/10