Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Movie Analysis

Disappointing as they just never explore the madness you would have hoped for. Solid performances still by both Benedict and Elizabeth.

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Imdb link -> Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) - IMDb

“This time it's gonna take more than killing me to kill me.”

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Spoilers ahead...

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Plot: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Tries to Stop Wanda

Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) wakes up from a dream where he sees himself from another universe trying to save the powers of a teen girl, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), from falling into the wrong hands. After attending the wedding of his former love, Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), he encounters a large one-eyed octopus trying to capture the same girl he saw in his dream. Soon, he realizes that it wasn't just a dream but reality, and that America Chavez possesses the power to navigate through different universes, albeit with one issue—she can't do it on purpose; it only happens when she's terrified. Dr. Strange discovers witchcraft is involved and seeks help from Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), unaware that Wanda has her own motives.

Wanda Maximoff Felt Too One-Note

The story takes place after the events of both Spider-Man: No Way Home and WandaVision (I haven't seen the latter yet). For me, the Scarlet Witch's plot felt over the top. Even if I had watched WandaVision, it seems there was still a need to further develop Wanda's character, who comes across as too one-note, driven solely by her desire to reunite with her children in another universe at any cost. While stubbornness is a human trait, this portrayal felt more like silly stubbornness. A conflict within herself, perhaps similar to Green Goblin in Spider-Man, could have added depth.

At one point, I couldn't help but wonder if only Wanda had come across the Darkhold book before Thanos destroyed the world, we might still have Natasha and Tony Stark alive. Even without it, Wanda was so powerful in that scene of Avengers: Infinity War, where Thanos comically says, "I don't even know you."

Dr. Strange and Chavez mimic Tony Stark and Peter Parker

The bond between Dr. Strange and America Chavez tries hard to evoke a father-daughter dynamic, especially since America never had a father, being raised by her lesbian moms. However, this attempt clearly feels like a rehash of the Tony Stark-Peter Parker relationship but fails to work, mainly due to the chaotic narrative that focuses more on action set-pieces and CGI monsters than on the actual human motives at play.

This same chaos is why the line "I will love you in every universe" failed to invoke any emotional reaction from me, something "I love you 3000" did so effortlessly in Avengers: Endgame. The relationship between Dr. Strange and Dr. Christine could have been better developed, especially after showing her getting married to someone else due to the five years he was missing, having turned to dust.

Multiverse of Madness Lacks Real Madness

There was an opportunity to explore how similar Dr. Strange is across different universes, particularly the "Are you happy?" theme, which was underutilized, especially considering how less selfish he is in the current universe (compared to his initial God complex). The cheesy dialogues were another drawback.

The entire Illuminati scene, where we are introduced to various superhero cameos, fell flat despite their brutal deaths at Wanda's hands. Part of the reason is that I had little knowledge of who they were; some characters were from Marvel TV shows, others from Fantastic Four, none of which I had seen. It felt like these cameos were included just to please their respective fan bases, which is why they were all killed off. Wouldn't it have been better if we saw Thor, Ant-Man, or Hulk from another universe in this room? Of course, the idea of killing them all in the next sequence would have to be omitted and replaced with something else.

While Spider-Man:No Way Home was chaotic in a good way, even if it relied heavily on nostalgia, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness merely shows glimpses of madness through multiverses but never fully commits to it. For instance, we see an amazing scene where Dr. Strange is pulled into a portal by America Chavez, traveling through numerous universes—one is all paint, another is an animated universe, and more—but in reality, we only see two other universes in detail, with the story focusing more on Wanda.

Musical Notes Fight Scene Was a Major Positive Highlight

What I wanted more of were scenes like the fight between the two Dr. Stranges from different universes, where they throw musical notes at each other, ranging from Bach to Beethoven, creating a hilarious battle. Or when Sam Raimi, who has been teasing a horror atmosphere throughout the movie (with a few good jump-scares), finally unleashes a corpse of Dr. Strange with many heads of other dead people attached to fight Wanda—an even more evil-looking Dr. Strange was so fun to watch. The gap junction and incursion concepts are only superficially touched upon. A mention of America Chavez's moms at the end or a reunion scene would have been good too.

The movie's pace felt too fast for my liking, which is expected given how much they were trying to include. I believe another 30 minutes could have done justice to some of it, if not all, with better writing.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen Deliver Solid Performances

Performance-wise, Benedict Cumberbatch is good, especially with his humor, his attempts to save the world, or portraying the loneliness he feels he'll carry in every universe. I particularly loved his small cameo as the evil Dr. Strange, who has succumbed to the influence of the Darkhold, much like Wanda. Despite this being a Doctor Strange movie, I felt Elizabeth Olsen was the major scene-stealer with her act, despite her character being poorly written, especially the mom part where she wants her children at any cost, not caring at what expense. I just wish her character arc had changed much earlier, perhaps around the start of the third act.

Verdict: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Overall, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is disappointing because I had enjoyed the first part a lot and expected much more from this one, given the potential of exploring the multiverse. However, I would still rate it higher than other Marvel movies like Black Widow or Captain Marvel because, despite the mess, I didn't find it dull; it had entertaining moments, visually stunning scenes, and a decent horror backdrop.

Rating: 5.5/10

Also, Check out Movie Analysis of Black Widow

Black Widow Movie Analysis: Natasha deserved a better film

Very Disappointing and dull in parts, Natasha Romanoff deserved a better solo movie.

Directed by: Cate Shortland

Imdb link -> Black Widow (2021) - IMDb

“The truth rarely makes sense when you omit key details.”

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Spoilers ahead...

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Plot: The Origins of Black Widows and How Natasha Connects With it

Set some time after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is on the run for violating the Sokovia Accords, the same accords on which most Avengers had different opinions. Hiding in a safehouse in Norway, she is forced back into her past, one she believed was over after killing Dreykov (Ray Winstone). Now, she’s on a mission to finish Dreykov and his 'Red Room,' where he brainwashes young girls, turning the capable ones into 'Black Widows' while killing the rest.

Scarlett Johansson’s Solo Marvel Movie Came Too Late

One wonders if this movie happened out of necessity or due to fanbase pressure. Natasha deserved her own movie, but it should have come before the third Avengers movie or even earlier. Watching it now, knowing Natasha is dead, ruins the enjoyment, and Scarlett Johansson’s performance feels mentally drained, as if she wasn’t contributing 100% to the role. This might be because the film itself is a mess.

The start is pretty good, establishing the fake parents of Natasha and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh)—Alexei (David Harbour) and Melina (Rachel Weisz)—with a lovely use of "This Will Be the Day That I Die (American Pie)" while they drive away from trouble. The scene where a young Natasha is told to help her mom by getting the plane off the runway in a do-or-die situation is also compelling. The opening credits track "Smells Like Teen Spirit," with a montage of blurry, dark scenes showing the dirty world of Dreykov and the Red Room, is very well captured and sets a mood I was hoping the entire movie would maintain.

The way the action set pieces are done—my favorite being the chase involving both Natasha and Yelena—and how the villain Dreykov isn’t shown until the very end, reminds me a bit of the last Bond movies.

Weak Climax and Over-stretched Natasha-Yelena Sister Drama

Where the film could have excelled was by diving deeper into the 'Red Room,' showing what exactly happens there in more detail, even if it went a little dark. The idea of mimicking is introduced but never really utilized in the narrative. They could have easily cut the first meet-and-fight scene between Natasha and Yelena; there are many other ways to break the ice between characters. Even the rescue mission where the sisters (not real) try to rescue Alexei was too stretched for my liking.

The climax was a mess too, yet that final credits scene showing Yelena grieving at the loss of her sister was emotional to watch. The link to Clint felt unnecessary, clearly meaning Yelena will go after him, even though it wasn’t his fault that Natasha died.

As I said earlier, I couldn’t enjoy Scarlett Johansson’s performance; her roles in other Avengers movies combined would make for a better watch when it comes to Natasha’s character. Florence Pugh was fun to watch, though her character also felt half-baked. I did love her imitation of Natasha’s pose, which she finds disgusting. Their little banter makes for a good watch. Her long reply to Alexei regarding whether it’s that time of the month was hilarious too.

David Harbour was disappointing; his comedy never really landed for me, which is surprising given how much I love him in Stranger Things. Rachel Weisz does get some good scenes at the start and then much later on when the family reunion happens.

Verdict on Black Widow

Overall, Black Widow turned out to be very disappointing and dull in parts, even more so than Captain Marvel. Natasha surely deserved a better final movie (ironically still her first). It’s hard to say what went wrong—whether it was the wrong timeline to showcase Natasha’s solo movie or just the timing of the release that made it not work.

Rating: 4.5/10

Also, Check out Movie Analysis of Argentina, 1985

Argentina, 1985 Movie Analysis: Good but a Tough Watch

Political Biographies are never my favorite genre. It’s a good watch but a tough one. The courtroom drama could have been more intense.

Directed by: Santiago Mitre

Imdb link -> Argentina, 1985 (2022) - IMDb

“Never Again.”

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Spoilers ahead...

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Plot: Political Biography About Events of Argentina in 1984

Inspired by the true events of Argentina in 1984, when the military fascist dictatorship rule finally ended. Over the past many years, there were kidnappings of innocents, people disappearing, torture without reason, rapes, and deaths. It has now been 7 months, and no trial from the military court has occurred regarding the injustices committed by the previous people in command. Therefore, the civilian court gets the chance to hear the case, with the prosecution led by lawyer Julio César Strassera (Ricardo Darin), who later gets assistance from Luis Moreno Ocampo (Peter Lanzani).

Biographies are already a tough watch because the chronological order of narrating the story often isn’t compelling. When it becomes a political biography, it’s worse because, firstly, I hate political figures, and secondly, with all the pressure from powerful people, the chances of a true depiction and not just seeing one side of the story diminish greatly.

Since I know nothing about Argentina or this story, I viewed the movie as a courtroom drama. There’s humor involved whenever Julio’s family scenes are shown—whether it’s about how he makes his son spy on his daughter to ensure she isn’t dating someone who could be a danger to him and his family or the frustrated expressions he makes while watching an interview with a political figure on TV. Interestingly, Julio even takes his son’s help for the final statement in court.

The scenes involving tortured people narrating how and what happened to them are the toughest to watch, especially knowing this happened in real life. The pregnant lady being tortured is heart-breaking and deeply disturbing, even without visuals.

Issues in Argentina, 1985

The two major issues I felt were, firstly, the whole trial period where they had to gather evidence is done too quickly through a montage. They could have shown more struggle before eventually getting 800+ witnesses and loads of evidence files. The other problem was the courtroom drama felt less intense, mainly because the tussle between prosecution and defense happened rarely. Surely, there was room for building a lot more tension, knowing this wasn’t just any case but a political one involving past commanders of the country. Also, I didn’t understand why there was no defense statement at the end—do courts in Argentina not do that?

Ricardo Darin and Peter Lanzani Deliver Enjoyable Performances

The Julio-Luis pairing was fun, initially for the inability to get his name right every time. The only big argument they have, when Luis blames Julio for not doing anything during the dictatorship period, gets very intense.

Ricardo Darin is excellent, portraying a character who is constantly worried about his family but also wants to give justice to all those people mistreated by the military dictatorship. He’s also humorous, like how he orders his secretary to do something and quickly changes his tone to a request when told he can’t fire her. I liked his final moving statement that ends with the words, "Never Again."

Peter Lanzani does well in a supporting role. The moment when Luis is being followed from the lift, I almost felt he might die, and how that makes him feel in the next courtroom scene where he keeps fearing there’s an actual bomb in there.

Verdict on Argentina, 1985

Overall, "Argentina, 1985" is a good watch. It might resonate more with locals or those who know the history better. As a courtroom drama, I felt it lacked in some departments, yet it tells the tale of people who suffered, and you can’t help but wonder how such dictatorship rule has ruined lives in any country where it’s applied, directly or indirectly.

Rating: 6/10

Also, Check out Movie Analysis of The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans Movie Analysis: Likeable but Couldn't Love it

Get to see about early life of Steven Spielberg, likeable but I just couldn’t love the movie.

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Imdb link -> The Fabelmans (2022) - IMDb

“You do what your heart says you have to. Because you don't owe anyone your life. Not even me. ”

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Spoilers ahead...

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Plot: Loosely Based on the Childhood of Steven Spielberg

Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), at a very young age, realizes his obsession with the camera and aspires to be a filmmaker. The story follows the struggles he faces while living in a family where his parents, Burt Fabelman (Paul Dano) and Mitzi Fabelman (Michelle Williams), are going through an unhappy marriage.

The movie is a semi-autobiographical portrayal of the early days of Steven Spielberg's life. The opening scene beautifully establishes how Sammy is mesmerized watching his first movie at a theater. Later, Mitzi discovers the reason Sammy wants to recreate the train crash scene with toys: he seeks control over what frightens him.

As the story progresses, we see how innovative and smart Sammy is, especially when he realizes that a shot in his short movie looks fake due to the gunshots. He quickly finds a way to make it look real. Whenever the movie focuses on Sammy and his camera, it feels great to watch.

What Doesn’t Work in The Fabelmans

However, the other subplots don't resonate as strongly with me, whether it's the bullying at high school, the anti-semitism, or the coming-of-age elements. My main issue lies with the Mitzi-Burt storyline, where Mitzi's affection for Burt's friend Bennie Loewy (Seth Rogen) feels too stretched and never-ending. This point could have been made more effectively without the self-indulgent long scenes. Despite a wonderful performance from Michelle Williams, I couldn't fully connect with her character. I do love two of her scenes: the one where she drives her children to see a tornado and then realizes what a reckless thing she did as a mom, and the other where she tells Sammy to follow his heart and not listen to anyone, not even her.

Performances of Gabriel LaBelle and Judd Hirsch

There's a lovely cameo by Judd Hirsch, who plays Uncle Morris, Mitzi's brother. He bluntly warns Sammy about where he is eventually heading, explaining how artists and filmmakers often prioritize their work over their loved ones. However, I don't think the role was significant enough to earn an Oscar nomination for him.

I loved Gabriel LaBelle's performance, especially in the scene where Sammy discovers his mother's feelings for Bennie while editing the camping trip video. Another standout moment is when Sammy talks to his dad, expressing his uncertainty about where he is headed—a dilemma almost every teenager faces.

One scene that will always stick with me is the one involving Sammy's girlfriend Monica Sherwood (Chloe East), where she insists Sammy bring Jesus inside him before they can make love. It was tough to control laughter during this hilarious scene.

Verdict on The Fabelmans

Overall, The Fabelmans provides some insight into the early days of Steven Spielberg. There's plenty to like and enjoy, but I just couldn't love it.

Rating: 6/10

Also, Check out Movie Analysis of Empire of Light

Movie Analysis : Empire of Light

Directed by : Sam Mendes

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14402146/

No one's gonna give you the life you want. You have to go out and get it. 

Spoilers ahead...

Set in an English coastal town in the early 1980's, Empire is a seaside theatre where Hilary (Olivia Colman) works as a Duty Manager. She's regularly seeing a doctor because of some mental illness she is going through and there's a very good improvement in her health when a new hire at the theatre Stephen (Micheal Ward) arrives with whom she forms a great friendship blossoming into romance.

When the opening credits began, showing the various places of a theatre, from the food counter to stairs leading to various screens, projection room and finally the movie hall, I felt this would be a movie that will show the workings inside a theatre, about the staff and their daily routines and lastly some sort of ode to the cinema. Unfortunately, that's just one of the many themes this film tries to show off and failing at each one of them. 

There's mental illness, sexual exploitation - Hilary's boss Donald Ellis (Colin Firth) asking for favours in his cabin all the time, racist violence, vandalism of public property, power of cinema and also short little romance of Hilary-Stephen that the narrative tries to cover. As expected, it turns out to be a total mish-mash, unable to balance these plots together. 

In one scene, Hilary who has till date not dared to use her credentials to sneak in and watch a movie with the audience, decides to finally watch a movie asking the projectionist Norman (Toby Jones) to play any of his favourite movie. Norman decides to play 'Being There', and as the movie proceeds we see Hilary getting so involved that by the end she is in tears. Now, I haven't seen that movie but from this scene I can gather the motive was to show how powerful the medium of movies can be, only that I couldn't feel same way as Hilary does here because the path taken to reach this moment has been not engaging. Similarly, when Norman is describing to Stephen about 24 frames per second and escapist cinema that he feels people in majority come here for, you just get a feeling he is preaching and its not naturally coming out for us to feel. Something that Fabelmans did right. 

I love the metaphor done related to pigeons scene, where Stephen tries to help one of the pigeon who has lost wing and days later help it fly away. He tried to help Hilary out too, and at start it seems to work before totally falling apart. 

Cinematography and score of the movie is good. Also, one particular scene that I loved when a customer is told by Stephen to either eat the food he has or throw it as outside food ain't allowed inside, there's a hint of racism but this situation holds true otherwise too as many people do tend to dislike being told about such rules. .

Even though this is another of Olivia Colman's fine performances, I would rate it below 'The Father' and 'The Favourite'. I rather liked Michael Ward much more, playing a guy who wants to do college and become an architect but gets stuck at ticket counter of a theatre while also going through the humiliation of racist attacks time and again. The theatre attack scene could had been well written, I didn't get why the other staff won't ask him to hide rather than letting him help close the doors which lead to the attack. Silly writing!

Overall, Empire of Light could had been lot more had it chosen one of the sub-plots preferrably the daily life routine of people working at a theatre and let the rest story revolve around it. Rather tries for a lot and fails at it badly

My Rating : 4.5/10

Movie Analysis : Aftersun

Directed by : Charlotte Wells

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19770238/

There's this feeling, once you leave where you grew up. that you don't totally belong there again. 

Spoilers ahead... (plenty of them)

Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) goes the memory lane decades ago when her younger 11 yr old self (Frankie Corio) went on a budget vacation to Turkey with her dad Calum (Paul Mescal). 

Most of the movie we see is through the point of view of Sophie, either the video recordings from her handheld video recorder or her mind camera as she herself points out at one stage in the movie. At start the story would give a feeling of its just another father-daughter bonding with a coming of age based story that we have seen many times. And the way some scenes go on for ages specially the one where Calum smokes cig at the hotel room's balcony at night leading to little dance steps all alone, makes you wonder 'oh no, maybe this is a pretentious movie'. I had the same feeling, but even this pointed out scene has a deeper meaning and as layer by layer the movie unravels, you would be surprised to see how much Aftersun tries to talk about topics that we don't discuss much or dismiss off too easily, i.e mental illness or suicidal thoughts. 

The beauty of the movie is that it tries not to tell what's going inside the mind of Calum directly, how he is always pretending to be happy which at times Sophie catches out but she is still too young to interpret that her father is actually having killing himself thoughts. There's many visible red flags, how carelessly Calum crosses a road with a bus coming his way, him standing on the top of his hotel room railing and the direct obvious one where you actually sense he would do it this time when he goes all alone late night towards a beach. 

The first clear hint we get about the depression he's going through is when Sophie asks him what did he do at his 11th birthday, which Calum denies telling in front of camera and thereby Sophie lets him tell to her mind camera and he reveals the incident that suggests he had a very shaky/troubled childhood. What I love about this scene is how its framed, using the tv screen to show Sophie having this conversation with her dad on the bed, so we don't get clear cut look at his expressions. This attempt to make sure scenes never get melodramatic is visible throughout the movie. 

Another beautiful shot is when Calum is opening out his cast (probably that was his last attempt at suicide before coming to this trip) in the bathroom, with a wall in between acting as barrier while on the other side Sophie on a chair is reading some magazine while asking him some silly yet interesting questions. She is totally unaware how irresponsibly Calum is cutting the cast and thereby hurting himself while he calmly answers her questions. 

Sophie re-visiting this trip on her own 31st birthday suggests that Calum may have ended his life after the end of the trip even though no official answers are given but you can put clues together to assume that. Why he did it ? Maybe the depression boiling over since the childhood got to him, being a dad at 19 he must not have been ready to take the responsibilities, followed up with a broken marriage leading to divorce, a recent breakup with partner that he was going to setup a cafe with.. In short, there was no happiness in his life and nothing good in near future looked like happening either, so maybe he felt this little trip gave him so much joy, it's right time to finally finish this life. 

He was clearly suffering in all departments, whether it was love or money as he couldn't afford a luxury room, nor he could afford that 'buy anything band' one of the teenager gifts to Sophie on her last day of trip, and also we see him ask Sophie run throwing some food on stage to avoid paying for the dinner, and lastly we saw him pick a random thrown cig from road while walking fast towards the beach. In a way you could say he was careless in spending money, for instance that rug he buys from the carpet store or the drinks he orders at the resort, who knows how much role all this played in him becoming a broke. Also, at one place he tells a guy that he isn't sure how he made it to 30, and how he feels alien to the thought of reaching 40 someday.

One thing about mental illness/suicidal thoughts is that its hard to know when the person is having it, most won't disclose it to even their loved ones. Just look at the conversations Calum has with any of the people throughout the movie, no one even once asked him 'Are you okay?' suggesting that they couldn't see through him, which even Sophie (understandably for her age) couldn't too. I am not sure if his wife knew or not, the phone talk they have suggests she maybe did, and he probably would had told it won't happen again. 

The coming of age angle of Sophie is well shown without the usual cliches through the interactions she has, with the guy at arcade game with whom she even shares a kiss much later and doesn't hesitate telling her dad about it, or the pool game she plays with the teenagers. Also, all the silent scenes where we see her just observe, whether its the girls talking about foreplay in the bathroom, or the teenagers partying and having fun around. Interestingly, in one conversation, a teenager girl tells her that 'all boys are gross' and adult Sophie is actually a lesbian. Again, kudos to the director handling the curiosity side of Sophie with utmost care. 

There's this scene where Calum tells Sophie to do what she likes, whether its to bring boys home, do drugs or any way to enjoy life but she must always tell him about it. It was an odd thing to hear him say, to ask daughter be very open when he himself isn't, and who knows how long he will live. Or maybe at that particular moment he felt he will outdo the urges to die and see his daughter grow up. 

The rave blink flashes throughout the movie was irritating for me, its at the right end when these shots make full sense. The anguish and sympathy adult Sophie had for Calum - firstly why did he go away, and secondly why could she not do anything. 

The soundtrack including the background score is just as spectacular, every time it adds more meaning to the narrative. The fun moments are beautifully shown through the famous tracks 'Macarena' and 'Tubthumping'. My personal favs however were -  

• 'Tender' by Blur that plays in background and suits Calum to the tee, a song that's about fighting the demons inside hoping to survive and find the peace. 

• 'Losing my Religion' by R.E.M. I will go on to say that I prefer the anguish tone of Sophie version over the original one. Its used at the karaoke night where Sophie isn't happy to see Calum not come up to the stage to sing with her. He is ofcourse having one of his worst moments of the trip eventually leading up to that beach scene. 

• Under Pressure' by Queen and David Bowie, this is one hell of a way to end the trip on (before that airport scene). I feel this track may never ever be used in a much better haunting deep way it is here, how it connects with the rave visuals of adult Sophie and that hug young Sophie is giving to her dad not knowing this is a moment she will remember forever in so many different ways, with the lyrics 'this is our last dance'. Perfection! 

Performances of both leads, Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal is splendid. Frankie plays Sophie as a girl who for her age is curious, asking silly questions but she's intelligent enough to understand things like the scuba mask drop where she immediately feels sorry knowing it was expensive and her father would be upset at it.She's not oversmart either even though she gets philosophical occasionally like the mention of how that sun is above our heads all the time no matter if we are together or not. 

In short, she strikes a perfect balance of what you would expect an actor of her age, not too matured and not too childish. Love how we see her angry with her dad at karaoke night, and then next morning without any tantrums or something, she forgives him during the mud sequence.

Paul Mescal had a much tougher role, to his credit he pulls it off so well, the art of pretending 'everything is good' while you are actually dying inside is efficiently handled by him. He's someone who is in pain and trying to be happy so that his daughter Sophie has a good time at the trip. We rarely get too much of closeups to examine his actions or moods. Its only when Sophie confronts him with direct questions, we get to see Mescal show off more. Even at the rug scene, I couldn't read what was going inside his mind.. was he thinking only about should I buy or not, or the symbols on the rug he wanted to buy had some deep meaning that made him get little lost.. I would love to know what that rug was implying since later on we see that rug at the house of adult Sophie. 

The reaction Paul gives when Sophie makes everyone wish him birthday song was really heartbreaking, not a surprise the director immediately cuts to the first and only time in entire movie Calum has a breakdown all alone in room. 

Aftersun is easily one of those movies that stays lingering in your head for days after you have watched it. Even though its a movie on depression, the topic is handled by the debut director in a manner that it never becomes a tough watch, yet it will hit you hard when its over. If not for the slow pacing, I would have given it a perfect 10. May not be really everyone's cuppa of tea, but I am glad it worked for me so much despite my initial reservations. 

My Rating : 8.5/10

Movie Analysis : Puss in Boots - The Last Wish

Directed by : Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado

Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3915174/

I find the very idea of Nine Lives absurd. And you didn't value any of them.

Spoilers ahead..

The story is about Puss in the Boots (voice by Antonio Banderas) who realizes that he has lived 8 of his 9 lives, and is no longer the brave strong cat he used to be. Running away from the bounty hunter, The Big Bad Wolf (voice by Wagner Moura), Puss hides at a shelter home for cats and meets Perrito (voice by Harvey Guillen). He eventually learns about a Dark Forest that has a Wishing Star, using which one can wish for anything and Puss expectedly wants more lives. The only issue is that there's many other people also seeking that star. 

The Puss-Kitty (voice by Salma Hayek) scenes are fun to watch, I personally enjoyed Perrito, the small dog a lot whether it was his initial conversation with Puss or how later he names the group 'Team Friendship', or the way he narrates the most heartbreaking moment of his life like it was the best one. He's just too cute in all situations and would melt your heart with that attempt of getting his eyes wide open. The 3 bears - Papa Bear (voice by Ray Winstone), Mama Bear (voice by Olivia Colman) and Baby Bear (voice by Samson Kayo) along with their adopted orphan girl Goldilocks (voiced by Florence Pugh) are also lovable and funny. 

Both the negative characters 'The Big Bad Wolf' and 'Jack Horner' (voice by John Mulaney), work seperately, the former aimed at dealing with inner demons and the other about physical strength. Infact Jack Horner is the only one who never redeems himself unlike rest characters which is understandable. There's this fun character, Ethical Bug (voice by Kevin McCann) who is conscience of Jack and keeps warning the wrong deeds he keeps on committing. I would have loved to see more of him. 

Even though the movie lacks in terms of Wow factor, and a not so interesting first 10 minutes specially the endless same dialogue 'I am Puss in Boots'.. it gathers momentum quickly and then keeps on entertaining thoroughly. Also, delivers the message of how you don't value what you have and the greed takes you on to wrong paths. 

The adventures are enjoyable with gorgeous animation, specially once they reach The Dark Forest and use the map which changes the route every time someone else holds it. It was really funny to see how Perrito gets the easiest path. 

While almost all voiceovers are great, I personally enjoyed Salma Hayek, Olivia Colman and Samson Kayo a lot more. 

Overall, Puss in Boots -The Last Wish may not be among the elite list of animation movies, but its good and entertaining enough to be seen again and again. Its a movie that I feel would work equally for the children and the adults, despite going dark at places. 

My Rating : 7/10