Saturday, March 22, 2025

Invictus

 A Clint Eastwood movie. A true story. Great to see the leadership from Nelson Mandela to encourage the local (failing) sports team at the same time inspire citizens to stand by that team. Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon have acted well but movie-making doesn't stand out or send goosebumps. Watchable for the event that happened post Apartheid.

Rating: Average

Language: English


Chhaava

 Well, from beginning till end, its war-zone and killing and bloodshed and swords getting pierced into bodies. Not my type of movie. I heard good reviews of this movie, so thought I will watch it on the big screen but repented. The tale is good (especially considering it is true story) but the movie-making was average. For the sake of Sambhaji, you can view.

Rating: Average

Language: Hindi

Moana 2

 Another movie with daughter. Again, felt at times, I could've skipped it. Not that it was not good. Just ok-dokey. Wit's good, animation's wonderful, characters are good. In the beginning, tale is too hard to understand (just like Part 1), but then jigsaw parts fall in place slowly.

Rating: Average

Barbie

Gave company for the daughter to watch this movie. Too chauvinistic - both on female and male side. Could have taken the gender bias out of the tale to keep it more child-friendly. Felt like more of a Man vs Woman war than a fun-filled, wit-filled kids movie. But showcasing the creator was a good idea. A movie that can be passed.

Rating: Average

Sunday, December 1, 2024

Aachar & Co.

 A simple poignant movie about Bangalore back in 1960s. Well-made and very clean. Good dialog, good acting although most of them seemed newcomers. Family entertainer.

Rating: Good

Language: Kannada

The Angry Birds Movie 2

 Movie with the daughter. Ok-dokey movie, I guess after you watch a bunch of animated films, your expectation soars higher and higher. To be fair, the movie is indeed good, with nice punch lines and comedy scenes but it was not like ROFL. Watchable once.

Rating: Average

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Shakhahaari

Set in a small village in Karnataka, this movie revolves around a pure veg hotel - the guests both wanted and unwanted, and how the owner gets caught in the web, just while his own life is getting better. Lots of amateur actors - some have done well but others are tough to watch! Good direction for the most part. Can dare to watch if open to gruesome scenes.

Rating: Average
Language: Kannada

World's First Christmas

 Watched it for the daughter. Very, very average movie. Story could have been finished in max 30 mins. The middle 1 hour is all time-pass and totally not needed. But all actors have enacted well, esp the kids.

Rating: Average

Language: Brazilian

Do Patti

 Hindi thriller. But didn't get much of a thrill. Location setting is nice - mountain regions. Acting by all is good especially Kriti Sanon - much like Sridevi in Chaalbaaz. Story is tense but not gripping. Small twist in the tale makes it interesting a bit. 

Rating: Average

Language: Hindi

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Murder Mystery 2

 Binge watched immediately after the prequel. Did not find this as good as part 1 but it had all the same  characteristics - awesome adventure, setting, twists/turns, Poirot-like situations, witty dialog, the ending, etc.. If anyone likes Part 1, Part 2 is definitely unmissable!

Rating: Must-see

Language: English

Murder Mystery

 Wow, talk about making movies just like how Murder Mystery novels are written. This one's a cracker of an adventure, like Indian Jones, but very much modern combined with Hercule Poirot's setting where he gets into a situation and everyone starts dying around him, and he has to sleuth it out. Jennifer and Adam have done a fabulous job producing and acting, the dialog is superb, action sequences are real, European setting is always wonderful and twists and turns till the very end keeps the audience fully entertained. This reminded me of so many Murder Mystery books that I used to read once upon a time! 

PS: Third consecutive hattrick movie day!

Rating: Must-see

Language: English

Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty

 This movie is like a sinusoidal curve but it starts off with a trough, becomes better, reaches the crest with some nice humor and then starts going back to trough and finishes off with a rise towards the crest. Good innocent and plain acting and narration, comedy is bearable but good at times, bores a bit at other times, relates to the new generation, watchable once. More of a drama genre than comedy.

Rating: Average

Language: Telugu

Khel Khel Mein

 Very sleeky at the beginning, but fizzles out. Not much of a comedy although it claims to be. Entire movie is based on a game that is played overnight where mobile is not private. And it just so happens that pretty much everyone is hiding something or the other. Amateurish acting by almost all. Becomes a bore after few minutes, since there is a lot of conversation, most of which is not pleasing either.

Rating: Average

Language: Hindi

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Instant Family

A very different genre movie about foster parenting and adoption. But the movie is extremely well-made with great humor and wit and dialog and dialog-delivery. The frustrations are shown superbly. The casting is great, characterization of each person is fabulous such as grandparents and children and teenagers and other fosters. Even though this is (or inspired by) a true story it doesn't seem so, thanks to the excellent narration. All in all, a great family entertainer.

Rating: Good

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

90 Feet from Home

Not really sure but saw it thinking it is inspired by True story. A very dark movie, filled with domestic abuse. The background score is apt for such genre, and the intensity of the victim & culprit roles are very well enacted. Not really sure if I enjoyed watching it but there have been great reviews about it. See this one for example: https://www.indyred.com/90feetfromhome.html.

Rating: Average

Trip to Paradise

Well, after watching the trailer, we felt there was no need to watch the movie because the entire storyline is shown, so there is practically no surprises. But, at the same time, the trailer has so many humorous scenes that one does feel like watching for the humor more than the story itself. And we were glad we watched it. Especially since we recently returned from Bali! The movie was like a breath of fresh air, in itself! George C and Julia R have done a fabulous job for their ages especially with the rapid dialog delivery scenes. The script is super witty. Location is great but then Nature helped them a lot with that! Ending is in fact a surprise indeed! Overall, a great watch!

Rating: Good

Monday, September 2, 2024

Mission Raniganj

A thriller, and narration is perfectly aligned for the genre. While the movie itself was an edge-of-the-seat, I wonder how the real lives were of the victims and their families during those crucial hours when the miners got stuck underneath. The true story is definitely worth the watch. Akshay Kumar has done good justice to the role. The politics, the undercurrent emotions, the family-angle, the time-factor, the lose-all-hope situations, etc. are all directorial master-pieces. Of course, the real Jaswant Singh Gill is the true hero! A big salute to him!

Rating: Good

Language: Hindi

Sunday, August 18, 2024

Ginny Weds Sunny

Bollywood Rom-Com. A simple triangle story. Climax did not have to be so hyped up, felt it was unwanted. The hero character is well portrayed and so is the lead female character - done true justice to it. At times, humor via dialog is light, simple & good. Good time-pass for a lazy Sunday, doesn't bore a bit.

Rating: Average

Language: Hindi

Saturday, August 17, 2024

The Sky is Pink

Well, what to say. True story about Aisha Chaudhary who lived a very short life. More than her life, this tale revolves around the parents who struggled so much from her day one till her last breath to make her life beautiful and worth living, and tried so hard to keep extending her life at every possible roadblock. To raise so many pounds by way of crowdfunding to get her treated at such a young age was remarkable especially when there was no gofundme or other social media networks. Niren's (dad) life is remarkable too, considering how he grew up the corporate ladder despite family issues. Aditi's (mom) life seems to be single-pointed dedication to Aisha. As you can see, there is more to the tale than the movie itself, so definitely worth the watch. And all the actors have done a great job, and director has made the narration remarkable too (considering the ending is well known indeed). Hats off to the entire crew for bringing this inspiring story to the big screen and to many homes now via OTT.

Rating: Good

Language: Hindi

OMG 2

Had been quite some time since I had watched a movie with court scenes. And this one had loads of them. Needless to say, dialog had to be (and was) superlative. Casting was good and genuine. Very sensitive and touchy topic, so acting involved lot of maturity from every member of the cast especially when done in front of large crowds. Akshay Kumar's dialog was very good as the Lord Himself. Overall, well worth a watch. Director has done a great job overlaying Hindu scriptures with the needs of modern education system.

Rating: Good
Language: Hindi