Connect (2022)

Connect (2022)

Directed by: Ashwin Saravanan
Starring: Nayanthara

My relationship with horror films has been a little weird. I never enjoyed almost any horror film I've seen. The only horror I've enjoyed is the sub genres of slasher horror, body horror or survival thrillers which don't have much to do with a "ghost". It's mostly because I always find them terribly predictable. I've not enjoyed jump scares too, because they feel more like a prank a friend is pulling on you than as a scene in a film. But I get excited and intrigued with the idea of a horror film. I was excited about Connect simply because I loved Game Over. And I thoroughly enjoyed Connect even though it was not very different from a lot of horror films I've not enjoyed. It's simply because the jump scares are a notch cleverer than what you'd expect.

I really enjoyed the idea that a mother herself has to perform exorcism with the assistance of an expert over a zoom call. Although the exorcism wasn't explored much, and there wasn't much depth beyond the superficial plot, the film manages to create a solid set of emotional highs and lows. There's a point where she cannot see her father and the exorcist is also injured and she's by herself. That moment was a beautiful low point, and then the film picks itself up naturally with the progression of events that happen. I can remember at least 6-7 points in the film where the tension was building up really well, and the best part is that the film doesn't give you enough time to breathe. The film's a little hard on you, to the point where you kind of surrender and let the experience take over.

Decision to Leave (2022)

Decision to Leave (2022)

Co-written, Directed and Produced by: Park Chan-wook
Best Director at Cannes Film Festival 2022

The film takes off with a simple premise - a murder mystery and as the film progresses there are a lot of layers added to it. And it keeps getting added to a point where it feels a tad bit overwhelming. It being a murder mystery, obviously there are a lot of plot points and details which drive the story. But beyond that, this film has the angle where the detective falls in love with the woman whose husband is dead. There's infidelity, a murder mystery, and tons of interpersonal moral dilemmas. It's also overwhelming because they don't give us enough time to process the bizarre plot points. I felt the same while watching Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden (2016). All of this with an underlying mystery throughout the film, makes the film's experience a little weird. The most unique thing about the film is the overall tone, and the thing is the tone is a derivative of the story. You can't have this tone with a lot of other stories. So here, style and substance are almost intertwined with each other.

Talking about the style of the film, the way the film is shot, edited and scored adds creates the film's texture. The camera angles are slanted, distorted. The magnification and the lensing is weird. There's a shrieky dramatic mood to the score. And above all this, what surprised me the most in the film is the fluidity. It matches the pace of the current day editing style. It's so snappy, fragmented, moves so quick and jumps from one to another. All these things added, the film has a very strong directorial voice. Almost as if it can be a tonal reference to a lot of new films/shows. 

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) 

Directed by: James Cameron

Avatar has the premise of 'man vs nature' and through this, they explore a whole new world. One of the best parts about stories set in different worlds is looking at the small details. Just like in the first part, how we see Jake and Neytiri falling in love, in this film, we see Jake and Neytiri having a family, kids. Here, what was novel was how we see kids growing up in a world like this. It's beautiful. For me, it was just this portion that made the film worth it. It felt like a beautiful, heartwarming PIXAR film. And from there, it goes into the water world, which is also a new world and though this world is not very different, even these portions have that warmth and some interesting elements to it. The film is visually beautiful, and it has the visual palette of a film unlike any other film ever made, which is why it's very easy to forgive any small issues the film has too.

To me, the film was structurally very predictable. Even the first part was lowkey predictable, and this time, the second part felt more predictable. I wish they explored the kids growing up once they entered the water world, because it would've been shorter. Now the portions before they go into the water world, though nice, felt like an extended prologue sequence. In this film, the action felt a lot more slick and stylish than in the first part. I really enjoyed a lot of the portions. Some portions in the ending felt like the film was a mix of Avatar and Titanic. Although I really enjoyed watching the film, I'm not sure about what to expect next. Because the 'man vs nature' conflict is getting repetitive by now, but they also can't deviate from this because that's the core idea of Avatar. I'm curious to see what they'd do.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Starring and Written by: Matt Damon & Ben Affleck

It's a beautiful film set amidst settings that I really love. College, an outlier misfit student, intelligent professors, a wise therapist, unresolved traumas and a murky relationship. Perfect recipe for a coming-of-age film. Robin Williams is so beautiful, he has tons of depth in just his appearance. He could just say something, and you'd want to buy it. Will is not easy to describe using adjectives, but Will and Sean seem like a perfect duo to have life altering conversations. Will has the answers to everything, he's intelligent. Sean has been through life, he's wise. Will is scared to be hurt again and would do everything to avoid it. Sean has already gone through the biggest possible tragedy of his life and yet doesn't regret one bit of it.

Although the film explores a lot of interesting themes, the film didn't land on me as hard perhaps because I've seen a lot of derivative work of this. Finding what you want to do. Taking a plunge without fear. Unresolved trauma. Wisdom vs intelligence. All these ideas are interesting even now, but I can imagine how blazingly original they'd have been for when the film came out. And though Robin William's character seemed like a spin off of his character in Dead Poets Society, I could never get tired of watching characters like that. I love how the film takes us through this myriad of fights, debates, arguments and ends it on a note where we feel like Will is going to be okay, or in fact more than okay.

Love Today (2022)

Love Today (2022)

Written, Directed and Performed by: Pradeep Ranganathan

Love Today has a terrific idea - terrific because the idea is so simple and has enough depth to explore more than enough. Two lovers are asked to exchange their phones and then decide if they still want to get married. Initially, both of them take it easily, but slowly a lot of lies start coming out. And loss of trust happens. Is there recovery from that? It's a terrific idea for a rom-com, and it's mostly executed well. The best part about the film is that though it's a rom-com, it's treated like a family entertainer with the settings they choose in the film and the way the screenplay unfolds. It's solid on structure and I can see why it's a blockbuster. I enjoyed Yogi Babu's subplot, it added a nice layer to the whole premise. There's one moment in the film that melted my heart, when the protagonist just breaks down in front of his mom. In that moment, one can forget the context and just the image of a young man finally bursting in front of his mother was so moving.

I had some issues with the film. Though the film is packaged as a modern romance, the worldview of the film suddenly becomes so old school sometimes - when he asks her if she's virgin and things like that. The whole conflict of her morphed MMS leaking seemed forced and a tad bit unrealistic conflict in the otherwise grounded, slice of life film. Suddenly with this, the film gets into a life and death territory which is a slight tonal jump. Although the film recovers from that pretty well and soon. I like how the film addresses the line between being silly as a young boy and actually being harmful to strangers on the internet. Overall, I enjoyed the film except for some minor hiccups.

Gold (2022)

Gold (2022)

Written, Directed and Edited by: Alphonse Puthren
Starring: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Nayantara

Gold is a classic example of style over substance. There's barely any story in the film, and the whole film runs on the Alphonse Puthren treatment. There's terrific style throughout - almost every scene is cut to the beats of the background music, almost like music videos, even when nothing is happening in a scene, these minor jump cuts are what make the scenes dynamic and interesting, there's usage of text, split screen, and there's so much style in the edit that it feels like the film was tripping on the edit table. The comedy also works - Alphonse Puthren sometimes has better comedy in the filler/background scenes than in the main scenes, and even in Gold, almost every scene has really good filler comedy. It's probably because there's no pressure and the filler comedy can be really silly too sometimes and it's okay.

The waferthin plot of Gold is not the problem, the issue is that even after watching the whole film, I felt like I didn't know Joshi, the protagonist. On one hand, he's a middle class mama boy. On the other, he becomes this macho man suddenly. The ending is too much of a jump that it almost felt like a parody. I like the self referential nature of the film - it's beautiful that the film reminds you that with edit, style and music a director has such a strong visual signature. I just wish there was some substance in the film to latch on to. With films without a focused plot and great style, it's fun to watch the film for about an hour. After that is when it can get a little draining. Nevertheless, Gold should be studied by editors and filmmakers to see how one can trip on the edit in a film.

HIT: The Second Case

HIT: The Second Case (2022)

Written and Directed by: Sailesh Kolanu
Starring: Adivi Sesh, Meenakshi Choudhary
Minor Spoilers Ahead.

It's a well crafted serial killer film. The film carries terrific tension throughout, it could either be by the details unfolding in the plot, or it could simply be by someone's possible presence around. There's a scene in the second half where KD and his colleague are discussing a scene on the road at night, outside a house. I just couldn't concentrate on what they were discussing because the possible presence of someone around created terrific tension. Though it was predictable that Raghavudu is definitely a red herring, they carried tension there too by eventually presenting evidence against him. And though almost the entire first half is a red herring, it doesn't seem meaningless because of the film's commentary on vigilantism and society's response to it.

There are a lot of beautiful set ups and pay offs, some really nice moments and the final reveal was unpredictable to me. So the film worked on almost every level to me. My only problem was with the violence. I'm not talking about the murders done by the serial killer, but for example the whole sequence between KD and the killer. I think violence can be fun if you see the act. It can get uncomfortable if you see the consequences. We see the shot of a disfigured face of the killer, which I thought they could've done without. But apart from this one thing, I liked pretty much everything in the film. I especially liked how the killer's backstory is not opened after the killer is caught, which I'm usually not a big fan of. I liked how they opened the film with some of that, almost like a cold open in a show. Looking forward to the universe building up.

Ammu (2022)

Ammu (2022)

Written and Directed by: Charukesh Sekar

Starring: Naveen Chandra, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Bobby Simha

Streaming on Prime Video. 

I loved the idea and the premise. The film is a little in the lines of Gone Girl, although here the woman is clean without any shades of gray. It's essentially about a woman who decides to get back at her abusive husband. The abuse is a tad bit triggering too. It affected me a lot, to an extent where I was expecting a terrific pay off. The abuse reminded me of Secret Superstar, which eventually has a really good pay off. Although in this film, whatever she does to get back at him, the last 45 mins of the film, feels just like one scene instead of a whole act. It's a small loophole she catches onto and acts on it, and it didn't feel like a good enough pay off. She helps an ex-convict, Bobby Simha by seeing some humane qualities in him, and makes life tough for the cop. I think why it doesn't work as much is because, the consequences the cop faces are not really in Ammu's control. She's just doing some damage hoping that there'll be bad consequences to him, which it works. But since the cause and effects are not very direct, it doesn't seem vengeful enough. In the ending, when she faces him and talks to him, it's a good moment, but I wished she faced him, confronted him and attacked him in some ways at least one or two times.

I like how the film explores multiple facets within domestic abuse, like how when the victim tries to seek for help, the perpetrator can emotionally manipulate the victim into not calling them out. The abuse is more than just the physical abuse, it's the mental manipulation too. How the film explored the abuse was terrific and triggering as I mentioned. And the film is technically beautiful too. I just had issues with the writing. With the same first half (setup) and a different second half (pay off), the film could've been completely different and a lot better too. The performances are good . Naveen Chandra is menacing and convincing as a guy who could be good and both be bad. Aishwarya Lekshmi also did a really good job, she has a lot of depth even when she's not doing anything on screen.

Flight (2012)

Flight (2012)

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Written by: John Gatins
Starring: Denzel Washington

The film opens with a terrific sequence of a flight accident. This scene reminded me of Sully, because I watched that film before, but this sequence had much more tension built in. I love the genre they cracked for this film, it seems like an action, legal drama, but it's also a character study of an alcoholic. The way he goes downhill is so interesting, because in the beginning they put us in a spot where we seem to be okay with his drinking and just like people around him, we too don't even realize when the jump happened, but we suddenly find his drinking to be problematic. He tells himself, 'it's just like flying', it beautifully shows how for him staying sober is harder than flying an aircraft.

While making bad/tough decisions, people are aware that there would be a lot of consequences. So is Whip in this film. He's aware of the consequences. But out of nowhere, a small thing hits him, and it's the most humane moment in the film, he has lied about everything, he has gotten everything under control, it's just one more lie, but at what cost? To put someone else at fault, who was trying to save a kid. Just this one small thing, helped him seek the truth and stop living a life of lies. I love it when small things turn around lives, when people move mountains for the smallest of things. It's beautiful. And the film has as much style and jazz as a Scorsese film when he's drinking, but it also manages to show us the dark side of it like a warning. The film does that for us.

Hell or High Water (2016)

Hell or High Water (2016)

Directed by: David Mackenzie

Written by: Taylor Sheridan

Streaming on Prime Video. 

It's a neo-Western crime drama, in the space of No Country for Old Men. The singular idea of the film is about two brothers who rob banks, but the film has a well rounded narrative constructed around this one piece of an idea. It explores why people commit crime, some for survival and some for fun. The headspace of the people when they're in it. It inevitably also explores the story of the cops, their headspace and their lives. I like the dynamics between the two brothers, and how they explore each of their character with respect to each other. The film never explores any character as an individual, it always explores each character with a frame of reference. The brothers are explored with respect to each other, and we understand more about a character by the contrast they have with the other than by their own self. Same goes with the cops. They too are explored like that. I like how the film though has a climactic episode, it doesn't close all loops. It still has a little hanging, because perhaps that's how crime is. It's never completely over. Once you get in, it keeps lingering till the time you die. 

I like the tone and the texture of the film. It's not as raw as No Country for Old Men, and it's not as refined as a Fincher film either. It has an interesting mid ground. The experience of the film is quite subliminal, it keeps everything on a very surface level. It doesn't aim to go real close to the characters, it is okay keeping us at a distance, which is why we can see the events of the film slightly objectively, as how crime should be looked at. If we empathize a lot with the brothers, then one of the brothers dying would make us feel rage towards the cops. But the film strikes a beautiful balance where we are slightly invested in the characters, and we feel too, but we don't get carried away by the feelings to a point where we cannot see things for what they are.

Kantara (2022)

Kantara (2022)

Written, Directed and Performed by: Rishabh Shetty

Produced by: Hombale Films

This was one hell of a ride. Loud. Pulsating. Chest thumping madness. It's set in a very distinct world with sprinkles of folklore and the supernatural. It tells the story of people fighting for land. It's also a character study of Shiva and it's beautifully performed by Rishabh Shetty and this is easily one of the best performances I've seen in a long time. Initially, the man seems like a normal guy. And in places, especially in the romance portions, I even found him and his antics tad bit ugly. Later, when the film progresses towards the interval, he seems like a beast when he's fighting the system. And by the ending of the film, he eventually becomes god. From an ugly man, to a beast to god, this was one hell of an arc. And he was absolutely convincing in all of them. 

The film meddles a little here and there, but then the climactic stretch makes everything worth it. I didn't see that coming, and I was thinking of a few possible climaxes and nothing in my imagination came even close to what the film had. In the end, when he dances with the folklore avatar, it didn't seem like an actor acting it out. It seemed like one of those images in textbooks we see, it was that authentic. The last act of the film shows how strong and impactful a film can get if you even take references from mythology and folklore and pull it off. It's sheer intensity and potency out there on our faces.

PS-1 (2022)

PS-1 (2022)

Directed by: Mani Ratnam

For someone who hasn't read the book, this film is definitely a little tight to follow because of the number of characters involved, and mainly the way they refer to each character with multiple names, their names, sometimes their accolades, etc. In India, there are primarily a few filmmakers who tell a lot of historic epics and fantasies. In today's day and age, it's mostly Rajamouli and Bhansali. Earlier, there'd be Ashutosh Gowariker too. Although this film didn't hook me all along, and a big chunk of the film felt like a set up to something coming forward, what I enjoyed the most in this film was the Maniratnam touch. I could clearly see his voice, and his touch to the storytelling. The way even the fight between Jayam Ravi and Karthi was choreographed, it's not very macho and raw. There's a sense of grace and style to it. And of course, the more direct touches of Mani Ratnam would be the women, the way they affect men and the story.

I really enjoyed the interval bit, perhaps my favorite bit of the film. I like how a man, no matter who he is, he could be a warrior, a king, but if his heart is broken, he can become a wreck. The interval scene slightly reminded me of the king in Chandramukhi, who beheads his wife and her lover. At the moment, the rage feels justified because of his love and longing towards the woman. And these are what create the most cinematic moments, which are wrong on paper but feel right in the moment. Like Baahubali beheading the man who tried to grope Devasena in court. Overall, I wish the storytelling was clearer and the ups and downs landed better. Although I didn't mind this much only because I could see Mani Ratnam's touch to a genre like this.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Written and Directed by: Daniel Brothers

It's a hypermodern masterpiece. It's the modern Pulp Fiction. This film makes you go gaga, because it keeps expanding your horizons of imagination of one side, and on the other side it also freaks you out about how the effect you've had while watching this film, is perhaps how we've been feeling with our overwhelming consumption of internet. While our attention spans are going down and down, this film comes to us like 'hold my beer' where sometimes we process what just happened after the scene is finished. Hyperreality is a very interesting concept that talks about how art imitates life, and after a point life starts imitating art (which is already an imitation/exaggerated version of life) and now art has to imitate life which is already an imitation of art which is already an imitation of life. A never ending loop. This film probably lands after 10 loops of art, life, art, life and so on. 

In spite of the technical plot, about how they have to prevent something bad happening in the multiverse, the film works at a dramatic level too. It beautifully talks about dysfunctional family, by her daughter being one of the antagonists, the divorce with her husband and it also talks about existentialism with the subplot of the IRS officer. I'm just blown by how this film talks about a lot, a lot, a lot and yet it sticks to its style and form. After a point, I started wondering if talking about a lot of things was also part of the style of the film. This is probably the most original film I've seen since Super Deluxe. It's not a derivative of any existing art forms, it's in fact an integration of existing art forms and non-existing art too. Films like this will influence a lot of art that's going to come by. So let's get ready for a lot more films, shows, music videos that just make us go, 'what were they smoking?'

Oke Oka Jeevitham (2022)

Oke Oka Jeevitham (2022)

Written and Directed by: Sree Karthick
Starring: Sharwanand, Ritu Varma, Vennela Kishore, Amala, Priyadarshi

It's a simple story at an idea level. A story told so many times, but it's told really well. Time travel. Characters wanting to change their past so that they can have a better life in the current times. Them realizing that no matter how much you try to change the past, you can't change your destiny and all you can do is make the most out of your present. Sharwanand was terrific in this film, he carried beautiful vulnerability throughout the film. A sweet surprise was Vennela Kishore, I never saw him like this. A comic actor doing drama hits so hard. Sharwa goes back in time to spend time with his mother and be with her, and perhaps save her life. Vennela Kishore goes back in time to make his younger self study and not end up like this. The best apart about Vennela Kishore's subplot is, it talks about self loathe. The way he looks at his younger self, his inner child, he's angry at himself. At one point, he's almost about to hit him. I really liked the arc this character had by the ending, it talks about acceptance but it's done in a simple way. They use one scene where he sells the question paper to talk about acceptance, instead of making it complicated. They use this scene to redeem the character from his own loathe. Priyadarshi's subplot is really funny. The auto scene where he's ignoring the girl as a kid was hilarious. Happens happens. 

What I enjoyed the most about the film was, the heart of the film is in the right place and though the emotional scenes land, for me the most compelling scenes were the parts where there were plot turns. Like the interval scene, the scene where Amala sees that Sharwa is his son and then the bang, the tension in these scenes was terrific. Also, I particularly liked the scene where Sharwa is afraid to sing in the beginning, the sound design was terrific in that scene. 

Gargi (2022)

Gargi (2022)

Written and Directed by: Gautham Ramachandran
Starring: Sai Pallavi
Streaming on Sony LIV. 

It's one of the most gripping films I've seen in a while. It carries nerve-wracking tension throughout. It's a must watch. The film has a terrific premise, it's about a woman whose father is accused of raping a minor girl, and when no one is ready to take the case, an assistant lawyer, with a stutter agrees to take it up. The story has strong antagonism, with all the public hatred and ostracization, and the lawyer being a newbie and with a stutter, the protagonists are underdogs. I love the tone and the pacing of the film, it allows for terrific tension and clarity in every scene. Along with the mystery slowly unfolding, the film also explores the psyche of every character going through such intense moments in their lives - right from the victim's father to Gargi's family. Gargi is a very inspiring character, especially her resilience and her patience. I think Gargi is a really good hero figure, because resilience and patience are the qualities we need to survive in the modern world and not skills like physical strength. 

Spoilers ahead. Do watch the film before reading further. The film beautifully subverts all expectations. With all the subversions I've seen in Malayalam cinema, I kind of saw this possibility in the beginning. But the way they showed Gargi's love for her father and her conviction about him made even me completely erase that possibility from my head. And when the final reveal happens, I could hear my heart pounding. I was shattered at the plight of Gargi, and when finally she herself talks to the girl and stands by her when she's identifying him, it again shows how much of a hero she is. The scene where she talks to the uncle, and he has a tongue slip, the scene was written so well - there is a lot of small talk in the scene and it almost feels like a build up to a terrific reveal. The best part about films like this and Jana Gana Mana, is the conviction with which they present all possibilities. Now because of the conviction in this film, even though the man was actually the rapist, the film also talks about how public's conclusions could possibly ruin an innocent man's life. The film inspired me on so many levels.

Karthikeya 2

Karthikeya 2

Written and Directed by: Chandoo Mondeti
Starring: Nikhil Sidhartha, Anupama Parameshwaran

It’s an adventure travel film, with the core of film being the enigma of Lord Krishna. The beautiful part about the film is that in a lot of moments in the film, I found myself feeling that enigma. It made me think and wonder. It was like a nice foray into the world of Indian mythology, or rather history as the film says. For an adventure film like this, the most important thing is about where it goes. The film goes to a lot of uncharted territories which we don’t see coming and it keeps us interested. I enjoyed Srinivas Reddy’s character a lot, he made the film grounded and rooted. Although what didn’t work for me as much was, the film keeps slapping us with conflicts after conflicts and it’s very heavy on us. Some of the episodes only have some physical hurdles and they don’t feel like they’re strong links to move the plot forward either. Although action/adventure fans would enjoy these episodes, I would’ve liked fewer of them to be in the film, but really well explored.  

Also, the tonal shifts were a little tough to handle. One on hand, the film talks about the enigma of Lord Krishna, and on the other hand a man comes and severs another man’s head, like in a Boyapati film. Although I didn’t mind this because, this film tries a new format – adventure travel – which isn’t much explored in Telugu cinema and it does so by sticking to the Telugu meter of storytelling. So it was interesting to see this. The comedy in the film makes you chuckle a number of times – with all the actors like Praveen, Srinivas Reddy, Viva Harsha, etc. It was refreshing to see no romantic angle/love songs being there in a mainstream Telugu film. For me, in spite of the little issues I had, the film made me think, curious and feel that enigma, especially whenever the flute theme played.

18 Presents

18 Presents (2020) 

Written and Directed by: Francesco Amato
Streaming on Netflix. 

It's one of the best film ideas I have ever come across. Anna, a rebellious teenager whose mother, Elisa, died at child birth, gets to time travel and be with her mother and father when her mother was pregnant. Anna knows that Elisa is her mother, but Elisa doesn't know that she's her daughter. And a beautiful friendship is formed between them. Of course, initially there's friction because Anna is a stranger. But eventually a beautiful friendship is formed between the both of them. I was wondering that perhaps this is the only way a child could match up to the love of a mother. If the mother loves the kid, without knowing that the kid is her own child, whereas the kid knows that it's their mother. There is a terrific scene where Elisa slaps Anna, and Anna says that she couldn't focus on work because her mother (who Elisa thinks is someone else) is sick. And Elisa empathizes with her. Only if she knew that she was her own child. 

The film is beautiful by itself, it made me cry. But since the idea was so terrific, I had different scenarios forming in my head. What didn't work for me as much was about how they just tease the idea of Elisa getting to know that Anna is her daughter. And later how they explain the whole time travel setting, vaguely as if they both interacted with each other in their respective dreams. This part was slightly off, but I let it be because this film anyway uses the fantasy element to tell a very emotional, human story. So it didn't bother me as much. The climax ripped me apart. Elisa writes a letter to Anna, before her pregnancy. She has some instinct that she doesn't have it in her to make it beyond the delivery. She asks for a pen and paper, writes a letter, sighs and finally says, I'm ready now. To give life to her daughter. I love how they visually end the film, with the whole swimming pool match cutting with the baby. I really enjoyed the emotional energy of the film. 

K. D. (2019)

 K.D. (2019)

Written and Directed by: Madhumita
Starring: Mu Ramaswamy, Naga Vishal
Streaming on Netflix.

This is the most heart-warming film I’ve seen in a long time. An 80 year old man, KD, leaves his home after he finds out that his children are plotting his death to claim inheritance. He meets a 8 year old boy, Kutty, who was abandoned as a kid by his parents and both of them become the best of friends. Kutty helps KD to tick off his bucket list. Kutty is a beautifully written character. From KD’s perspective, he feels so loved by Kutty that he says, even my mother wouldn’t take this good care of me. I wonder who the child is between the both of us. Kutty’s love comes through very casually, he’s not being nice or sweet. That’s just who Kutty is. Since Kutty was abandoned as a kid, he knows the value of a connection.

For a film without any physical conflict, it’s very important for all the scenes to work standalone. If there’s a strong villain, there could be a scene or two that could be middling. But in a film like this, every scene has to work. And the film succeeds in that. Valli’s subplot is beautiful. There’s just so much love and heart in the film. All along I was wondering if they’d kill KD and make Kutty go through it. But no, they make Kutty go through worse. He’s again abandoned. That scene in the bus stop broke my heart. They beautifully bring the 10^th empty point in the bucket list. It works as a nice set up and pay off, and it works emotionally too. And I have to mention, the background score was very soothing and I enjoyed the music so much. 

Pokiri

Pokiri (2006)

Written and Directed by: Puri Jagannadh
Starring: Mahesh Babu, Ileana, Prakash Raj

Pokiri is undoubtedly a benchmark in Telugu cinema, and a lot of us have seen the movie countless times. One huge factor is the dialogue of the film. Not only in Pokiri, but in a lot of Puri's films, there is this style of dialogue. In Pokiri, almost every dialogue that Mahesh Babu says is a punch. Sometimes, they're so on the face, like the famous, 'evadu kodithe...' and sometimes, it's subtle, where in the opening scene Subbaraj says, 'nee perentra', and he responds, 'peru chepthe kani thannulu thinava'. He almost never answers a question anyone asks, and even when he does, he says something unexpected. I feel like Puri has this natural instinct of writing dialogue where before he writes a dialogue, something comes to his mind, and he goes, not this, this is a normal response, we need an absurd response here. And somehow this doesn't even feel forced. 

Another very interesting aspect about the film is, Ileana's character. The film is centered around Pandu, a bad guy, which is what the film is centered around. We see his life, the consequences of his action. Ileana's character is a beautiful subplot which explores a different facet of a bad guy - how does it feel to fall in love with a bad guy? It's charming initially, but when you later get to know him better, it's confusing. The brain and heart conflict with each other. She's heartbroken throughout the second half. There's this terrific scene where she has this intuition that he is around, and I feel that women can sense things like this, they have this intuition. And Shruti has so much conviction on her intuition that she says that if she's wrong, she'll forget him. And yet, he lies to her face. That's what I love about this film, it seems like a hypermasculine film, but even Ileana's character and her plight is explored beautifully. 

Sita Ramam

Sita Ramam (2022)

Written and Directed by: Hanu Raghavapudi
Starring: DQ, Mrunal Thakur, Rashmika Mandanna
Spoilers Ahead.

They say, everything is fair in love and war. Though love and war seem like two opposites, they’re quite similar. You fight in a war, and you do the same for love. There is pain in war, and so is in love. So, a romance set amidst war is a beautiful way to explore the extremes of life. Sita Ramam is shot beautifully, with visually appealing locations, production design and costumes. The film borrows the structure from Mahanati, where two people are on a quest for a big story, played by Rashmika and Tharun Bhascker. The film keeps intercutting between DQ’s story and this track. Although there is a terrific twist in the ending, which joins both these tracks. For me, though the romance in the first half was middling a bit, it beautifully talks about longing. Waiting for someone’s letter for days together, in today’s day and age of quick replies, I can’t even imagine how it’d have been to wait for hear from someone indefinitely.

The interval gave me goosebumps. The film already has a lot of barriers between the both of them, and the film keeps increasing these barriers further and further as the characters grow become fonder of each other. The ending was really good, especially the scene where the small girl takes the letter from his hand with an innocent smile on her face. That shot broke my heart. Rashmika’s character has a beautiful arc – from being an arrogant woman, to being someone who learns gratitude. From someone who hates India, to someone who realizes that an Indian man saved her, who didn’t care about which country she was from. He saved her, only because both of them were humans. In the ending when she meets Noor and asks if he’s alive, Noor says no, and she almost says it with a straight face. That expression carried a lot of pain. I enjoyed the film, and the terrific ending made up for whatever middling there was in the middle here and there.

Network (1976)

Network (1976)

Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Screenplay by: Paddy Chayefsky
Won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay

It’s one of the most compelling films I’ve seen in a long time. It has a lot of outrageous energy. The film is set in the TV news network, and the amounts of craziness that’s in there. A news anchor announces that he’d shoot himself live on TV in a week, and suddenly there’s a lot of attention to this show. Eventually it gets to a point where the network executives keep him going, because the show generates more views than a lot of other non-news shows just because of this man’s erratic behaviour on TV. Although the film makes a commentary on the turmoil of people against the government, which is pretty perpetual in a way. That way, this screenplay is way beyond the film. In a way, it predicts the future. The pitch of every actor is in a high tone, they’re almost never talking. They’re almost yelling. This beautifully captures the anxiety and the turmoil everyone is going through, in a desperate attempt to make more money.

The subplot of the affair between Max and Diana is beautifully written. It uses hyperreality as a tool, they constantly address how such affairs usually end up in pop culture and it exactly ends like that. Diana’s character hit me so hard – she’s an obsessed artist who’s good at her work, but the reason she’s obsesses with her work is because she finds self worth only at her work. In other aspects of her life, she has failed time and again and she’s somehow told herself that she perhaps is only good for her work and is continuing to do so. Self-fulfilling prophecy at play. One of the best conversations is between Max and Diana when they talk about how women always think the worst things they could say to a man is about how bad they’re at bed and that he left comparing genitals back at his high-school yard. This is a beautifully written screenplay, it has a lot of depth and layers – irrespective of whether you zoom out or zoom in.

Lord of the Rings: Part One

 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Directed by: Peter Jackson
Streaming on Prime Video.

I’ve always stayed away from mainstream fantasy films, and this is almost my first exposure to this genre. The film has a terrific prologue, where it talks about the story of a ring. The story is so rich that it almost feels like it’s not something that’s been created on paper. And it also feels vast and epic because of the timespan of the backstory. The ring has travelled for thousands of years, and it finally lands up in the hands of a young boy, Frodo Baggins. The ring is capable of a lot of destruction in the world, and the task of the boy is to make sure that the bad guys don’t find the ring, and to destroy the ring. I always like stories where characters are put into situations that they are not ready for. The young boy is definitely not ready for this, and he in the process of this epic adventure, becomes a better man. So it’s also a coming-of-age story of Frodo in a way. Though the film is set in a fairy tale kind of a setting, the conviction of the storytelling makes us feel like it’s an existing epic or even history.

In this journey Frodo Baggins takes up, he makes a few friends, a few mentors, a few people who save his life and faces a lot of enemies too. We see all archetypes of supporting characters – a friend, a comic, a mentor, a villain, and more. Though at every stage of the film, the forces of antagonism are very physical and visual, the turmoil that our characters go through to face them, or after facing them is deeply emotional. After Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo in the ending, Frodo loses trust. He feels so betrayed that he decides to go on the journey alone. Though the setting of the film is epic, what the events does to the characters is deeply intimate. And then comes my favourite moment in the film, Sam insists on going with him even if Frodo won’t let him – because he promised someone. I really enjoyed the humane moments more than the action set pieces, and I’m looking forward to watching the other two parts.

Cape Fear (1991)

Cape Fear (1991)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro

The film is about Max Cady, an ex-convict who finds out that the lawyer who defended him hid an important piece of evidence which would have saved him years in prison. He’s out to get the lawyer. But there’s a catch. The case was about Max brutally raping a woman, so the lawyer purposefully hid that piece of evidence about the victim being promiscuous because he thought Cady deserved to go to jail. So the lawyer’s a good guy. Robert De Niro is absolutely menacing as Max Cady, especially because of his abilities. He has the abilities to charm women, and the scene where he talks to the lawyer’s daughter who is 15 and kisses her, had me gasping. That entire scene was beautifully constructed. After the girl gets to know that he’s Max Cady, she doesn’t flee the scene but her body turns away from him and she keeps gazing at the exit and that is enough to convey that she’s uncomfortable. That’s how they build tension in that scene.

What I love about the film is, it gets into the story right off the bat without beating around the bush. And it almost plays out like a survival thriller, but also like a character study of a menacing guy. Although I felt that the whole ending, where he almost rapes the lawyer’s wife, would have been more shocking if Max Cady didn’t rape the lawyer’s secretary. But because of the brutality of that scene, the film successfully carried tension throughout the film. It goes by Hitchcock’s bomb theory – the way a bomb suddenly going off can just shock the audience for a bit but if they know that there’s a bomb under the table, there’s tension throughout. So it worked like that. I loved the ending, but I didn’t get why it was set in that ship. It could’ve been set in his house too, that would’ve brought in even more tension because nothing can save at that point. De Niro is so charming that at times, I was rooting for him and I love films that make me hate myself for rooting for bad guys.

Match Point

Match Point (2005)

Written and Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Matthew Goode, Scarlett Johansson
Nominated for Best Original Screenplay

It’s the OG Gehraiyaan. After watching this film, I realized that Gehraiyaan was heavily influenced by this to a point where I don’t feel that good about Gehraiyaan anymore. Because all the major plot points are derivative, although what Gehraiyaan did better was to make us buy the affair. I never felt uncomfortable watching Gehraiyaan, but Match Point made me very uncomfortable. I remember watching these sex scenes as a kid and enjoying them, but now when I watch them in context, they made me mentally squirm. The way he lies to his wife’s face, when she has no clue if he loves her anymore or not. Especially because everything happens so fast. We see Chris falling in love, going on a date, making love, getting married and because Woody Allen’s films are generally so tight, it felt like life was happening very fast and then he meets Nola and he likes her, and all it takes is one moment of passion to forget everything behind.

All of the discomfort that the film makes you feel throughout, has a terrific pay off by the ending. Though Chris doesn’t get caught and doesn’t get punished, we get to see how a normal man could be capable of doing something extraordinary, when in difficult situations. The film is a beautiful warning that even if you come across someone as hot as Scarlett Johansson, the situations to deal with could be so out of control that you may end up discovering ugly parts of yourself, which probably never even existed. The conversation Chris has with a man on the bench, is a beautiful encapsulation of the moral dilemma of the whole film. I needed a fun Woody Allen film to watch, I didn’t sign up for this. I gotta watch another Woody Allen film to make up for this now. 

10 Cloverfield Lane

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg
Streaming on Prime Video
Spoilers Ahead. 

A terrific thriller. Set in the survival drama, one location set up, people trying to save their lives, this is always an interesting space to explore extreme emotions we go through. Even though there are only 3 characters in the film, the film has a lot of depth and detailing with the way they used the plot and the way they reveal certain details about the character. At first, we as an audience travel with the idea that Howard is lying to them and that he has other intentions. We root for Michelle to escape from the place and get free. And after an act into the film, we see Michelle finally stealing his keys, smashing his bottle with a glass of alcohol and fleeing the scene. But as she's about to open the door, we see someone mutated from the outside. Turns out, Howard was right. It's dangerous outside. This is such a killer turn in the film. Here on, we are filled with a lot of questions, but it also settles down the tension because at least the characters are on the same page. They get together, they bond well and almost live like a family. 

All of it again comes shattering when she goes to turn on the air conditioner and finds something shady. She talks to Emmett about it, and as they put pieces together, they realize that Howard actually kidnapped a young girl and killed her who he claims to be his daughter. There's a terrific scene in the film where they play a game to guess a movie, and the way they show Howard guessing words is a terrific way of revealing his character. The mystery slowly creeps in, till a point where it goes all out and becomes an action survival thriller. Finally, after she gets out, the film takes a complete tangent which I didn't see coming. I liked the absurdity and the unpredictability, but it didn't seem like a great pay off because of the setting of the film throughout. Although, I think it's a brilliant way to set up the film for a potential franchise - from an ultra low budget set up. 

Modern Love: Hyderabad

Modern Love: Hyderabad (2022)

I really enjoyed this show. Although some stories seemed totally Western, they incorporated these stories into the Telugu world pretty well. We usually don’t have a lot of films in Telugu which talk about feelings, nuances within relationships and conversation driven dramas with this tone and nuance. So it was very interesting to watch. Though I really enjoyed all the episodes, I was expecting to see these stories being set in the context of romantic relationships. Only 3 out of 6 stories deal with romantic relationships. That was my only setback, but having said that the episodes that made me feel the most was not about a romantic relationship. 

Episode 1: My unlikely pandemic partner, starring: Revathy, Nithya Menen

It’s a beautiful story. I was deeply moved by it. Relationships with parents is always complicated. There is tons of love, but there are a lot of issues hiding under them too. Sometimes they come out in unexpected times and create some discomfort for a while, and they again go away or go under the rug and it again gets back to being good. This is exactly how the episode is. We know there’s a conflict between them, it comes in between once in a while, but otherwise there’s a lot of love. 

I loved the scene where the both of them sleep beside each other and talk about their relationships. The writing of the scene and the tone, and the style in which it was shot was beautiful. Reminded me of some conversations in one of my favorite shows, Little Things. The ending of this episode was absolutely heart-warming. It beautifully talks about the situation of a person after their spouse passes away in the most bittersweet way. This ending is a nice tribute to Hyderabad, and anyone who loves the city cannot help but be charmed by this ending. 

Episode 2: Fuzzy, purple and full of thorns, starring: Ritu Verma, Aadi Pinishetty

I really enjoyed this episode. I like how it takes off and jumps ahead in their relationship. The moment Ritu opens the cupboard and finds the purple sandal, my mind paused for a second and imagined what the film would be about. I thought, Ritu’s lost sandal at the temple is this purple one, and Aadi was the one who stole it so that he can find an excuse to talk to her, and that’s what happened. So their entire relationship is based on a lie, and now she wants to talk about it. But no, this story wasn’t that. 

This was about how she’s insecure about him keeping his ex’s things. And they both are on different pages about this. I always see Ritu in this calm, composed manner and in this film, she has this side, but she also brought out a neurotic side along with it, which was very interesting. Although I enjoyed the premise and the tone, and where the film goes, I would’ve liked to see more justifications from each side for their arguments, or maybe explore more problems in their relationship starting with this.

Episode 3: Why did she leave me there? Starring: Suhasini, Naresh Agastya

This episode deals with abandonment issues – which is very relevant in the context of romantic relationships. But this story explores it through the roots of abandonment, when a kid feels abandoned when he’s left at a hostel by his grandmother who he deeply loved. I felt that the episode was middling, till the point where we realize that she’s going to leave him in the hostel and from the point where the kid realizes it, the episodes takes off beautifully and ends in a heart-wrenching place.

The issue with this episode for me was that, throughout the episode in the present, it doesn’t deal with the core point of the episode – abandonment. The setting in the present story has nothing to do with his issues. We just see that he’s doing well in his career. I wish I could draw more parallels from the present to the past in terms of where he is emotionally. That would’ve been really interesting. 

Episode 4: What clown wrote this script! Starring: Abijeet Duddala, Malavika Nair

I enjoyed this episode. I love how it was shot and performed. Both the actors were good. Abijeet had a heavy, glum face which spoke a lot and Malavika is this mysterious, charming girl who seems very deceptive, in a nice way. And I particularly liked the tone of the conversations in the episode. Although the stand-up bits didn’t land for me, I don’t know if they were meant to, but I feel like doing a stand up set in a film is the toughest thing, unless the actor writes the set and performs it by themselves. Because when you write jokes and ask someone else to perform them, it’s very challenging. 

I like the whole concept of the ‘telugu abbayi’ and how it was used as a running joke throughout the episode, and I liked the love story too. Although I wish I could feel a little more than what I did. I definitely enjoyed where the episode left me, it left me a bit hanging to see them together, it left me bittersweet to see them split and it left me smiling when there was hope in the ending. 

Episode 5: The rustle in the bushes. Starring: Ulka Gupta, Anirudh Pavithran, Naresh

This is the episode that moved me the most in this season. It’s a beautiful story, it works even on a story level and the actors just made it so better. The story is about a controlling father, who keeps an eye on his daughter all the time, and I feel like a lot of Asian people would relate to this on some level. Ulka Gupta was so good, her innocence added a beautiful layer to the character. Anirudh fits very well in his role. But there were a lot of jumps in their love story. I couldn’t figure why a seemingly traditional girl like her is interested in someone like him. 

Although I didn’t mind the incompletions because at the end of day, it’s a father-daughter love story. The ending broke my heart, because to me a controlling father is a villain. Prakash Raj in Bommarillu is not a character, he’s a villain to me. That’s how I’ve seen controlling fathers all my life. And here comes a film that suddenly makes me see the other side, and in the most heart-breaking way. I can easily say that this episode changed me as a person. 

Episode 6: Finding your penguin. Starring: Komalee Prasad

I really enjoyed this episode, because it talks about finding a mate from an evolutionary perspective. Since I’ve been reading about evolutionary psychology, mating strategies of people, inherent mate value that all of us have, this episode was quite fun to watch. It talks about how different animals find their mates and what mating strategies they have, and the character keeps trying to find love by the strategies taken by different animals. 

This episode stood out the most to me, in terms of the creative voice. It was very solid, especially with the cut-aways to the sequences where she’s dancing with weird costumes and set pieces. I really liked the casting too, the girl looks very Telugu and yet she brings out a beautiful modern-ness to the character and this makes the character urban as well as grounded and I thought that was a very interesting space to put the film in. I like the girl’s confusion and how her heart is all over the place.

Amour (2012)

Amour (2012)

Written and Directed by: Michael Haneke 

Palme d'Or at Cannes

Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film

It's a love story of a couple in their 80s. They're dealing with deteriorated health, they're struggling with getting daily chores done, they're sometimes even struggling to talk to each other. What seems like the most unromantic film ironically felt like the most romantic thing I've ever seen. Because deteriorating health and old-age is reality that all of us, hopefully, will go through. And I feel like if you want to go through all of that with someone, then that's the one. You could go through your 20s with a lot of people and still have fun. Who'd you be with in your 80s and have fun? That's the question. Being there for each other at that point feels like the pinnacle of love. I feel like Amour is a film to watch with a date, and then think if you'd want to go through that with that person.

Spoilers alert here on. In this minimalist setting, with one location, very few characters and the film moving very slow, with small small moments between them, all of this builds up to the shocking and the unfathomable ending, where he kills her to let her off that pain she's going through. How did he do that? I was wondering, wouldn't he want a few minutes more of her? But his love is beyond that. He wouldn't want her to suffer for even few more minutes. The film made me thinking who had it worse, her or him, and I could never reach to an answer. Because she knows it's heartbreaking for him too. And he knows that she knows. And it's an endless loop of how they both keep feeling for each other, till the point where there's no difference between one and another. Both of them are the same living in different bodies.

Jana Gana Mana

Jana Gana Mana (2022)

Directed by: Dijo Jose Antony

Starring: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Suraj Venjaramoodu

Streaming on Netflix. Spoilers ahead.

It's a brilliant film. Malayalam cinema nails the idea of subversion. In the first half, it presents ACP Sajjan (read Sajjanar) as this hero who takes the law into his hands. In a land where the law isn’t doing its job and when the hero takes it into his hands and does – it works wonders from a dramatic standpoint. And they present him as the hero with absolute conviction. The film gives him a proper mass moment and makes us believe that he's the hero. And then the second half happens, where they introduce Aravind Swamithanan (Prithviraj). He initially plays this opposing lawyer, just like Amitabh Bachchan in Pink where you keep wondering what’s happening, and your sense of character is questioned. A star is cast in this part and he’s supposed to be the good guy, but why is he being the bad guy? This mystery works really well in this film too and by the ending, he becomes the hero and Sajjan the villain. I remember feeling the same when I watched Kapella too – with the mindbending subversion in the film. 

One of the reason the subversion works very well is the film presents every scene with absolute conviction. When we think Saba was raped and murdered, the drama caters to that emotion. When the students protest Saba’s incident not finding justice, the revolution – which by the end of the film seems pointless – but at the moment, they present it with complete conviction. I should mention that the background score in the film is terrific and it added to how all these scenes were presented with that conviction. Even the ending was mind blowing, with the way the film was being presented, I could’ve never imagined it to have scope for a sequel and I love how the film keeps unfolding layer by layer and becomes so big that what we’d have imagined it to be.

Pineapple Express

Pineapple Express (2008)

Directed by: David Gordon Green

Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco

Screenplay by: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg 

It’s a stoner comedy. The film has a very simple yet interesting premise. A marijuana dealer and his client sit and smoke a rare strain of weed, Pineapple Express. Later, the client accidentally witnesses a murder and before fleeing the scene, throws his roach down there – which eventually makes the guy trace back to the dealer because he’s the only one who sells Pineapple Express. What follows is the dealer and the client fleeing the gang who committed the murder. It’s a very interesting bromance between the dealer and the client. It starts off with the dealer saying that he doesn’t have friends and people just take weed from him and go away, to which the client says that he thinks that he’s fun. The stoned conversations are written very well – especially the way conversations go from one topic to a completely unrelated topic through a thin tangent. 

My favorite sequence in the film was the client’s girlfriend’s episode – the way they go to her house and tell their family that they have to leave the house and run away from there and the fiasco that happens there. The tone of the film is mostly created through the aspect of how things quickly escalate, and that’s where they draw the absurdity from. It could’ve been solved in a very simple manner, but because of the esoteric nature of the characters and their choices – things escalate and there’s a lot of chaos and action that happens. This tone, the setting and the characters – all of them are perfect for an action comedy. I like the homage they gave to Tarantino – with the ear being cut off and the ending scene being staged at a restaurant which looked very similar to the one in Pulp Fiction – I don’t know if this was intentional or if it’s just me.

Wonder (2017)

Wonder (2017)

Directed by: Stephen Chbosky

Based on a book of the same name

Streaming on Netflix. 

This film has a gut-wrenching premise, it’s about a boy with a condition which makes him look different. As a result, he’s bullied by everyone, and sometimes, people are even scared of him. It’s a similar condition of a woman who has been through acid attack. The film has a very heart-warming tone, and just 10 minutes into the film, the film chokes you with emotion – where Auggie breaks down in front of his mother and asks her, why am I ugly? It’s heart-breaking. The most interesting part about the film is how it takes the premise of the film, and explores other subplots within the same umbrella of the conflict. Auggie’s sister, Via – she feels neglected because all the attention at home goes to Auggie – and rightfully so. She understands that, but she can’t help but have her own moments of wanting a little more attention and love than what she gets right now. It’s interesting how they explore her side too, because usually in films with this strong a premise – they just stick to it and not explore other facets of the story too. 

I like the style of the film, the way the voice over is done, and the kind of music that’s used. It almost feels like a fairy tale, but with gut wrenching reality. This film is written with a lot of empathy for all the characters involved, even the bullies at school. His best friend Jack fucks up once when he thinks Auggie isn’t around, and that shatters Auggie. But they don’t villainise Jack because of this one fuck up, it happens and later Auggie too forgives him. Even the other bully. That’s what I like about this film, it has a lot of empathy and it inspires us to be more empathetic towards others and ourselves.

Life Itself

Life Itself (2018)

Written and Directed by: Dan Fogelman

Being an admirer of Dan Fogelman, the creator of This is Us and the writer of Crazy, Stupid, Love, I had huge expectations from this film. This film worked for me for the 1st 40-45 minutes, till the point where we see the first two chapters. There on, it felt like there was too much to take in a film. The first chapter was terrific, it would work even as a short. It is classic Dan Fogelman, characters being madly in love, and then facing some trouble and coming to terms with their feelings. I loved the way he talks to the therapist, the contrast between who he was and who he became because he lost the love of his life. And I liked the idea of how this one event impacted a lot of lives, by the way they explore each of their backstories - it's an innovative narrative style. But I just felt like they overdid the idea - to a point where the style overtook the substance, and this is usually unlikely for the work of Dan Fogelman, because his work is usually very high on feelings and emotions. It almost felt like an anthology, but without any underlying theme. 

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the opening bit. Even though it was just for a short while, it had a lot of depth. He explored a whole lifetime in about less than an hour, by making vignettes of the defining moments of their lives - how they met, how they hit it off, how he asks her out. One of my favorite lines in this film is what he says when his girlfriend asks him about when he's going to ask her out - for me, that one response of him made watching the whole film worth it. He says, I'm waiting for the right moment, because that's going to be the most important of my life, everything is going to change after that, I'm just waiting for the right moment. Classic Dan Fogelman stuff.

Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians

Directed by: Jon M. Chu 

Based on a novel by the same name. 

Streaming on Netflix. 

It’s a simple premise, an age-old story, about how a couple has to convince either one or both of their families to get married. But it’s very well written and executed, with quite some layers and nuance. They take quite some time to establish the whole setting and the world, but it works because they do it with comedy, and a lot of visual grandeur. So it’s fun to watch. The conflict of the individual vs community, between Asia and America is always interesting to explore. It’s done beautifully in The Farewell (2019) as well. I loved how Eleanor says that Rachel is American, and all Americans care about is their own happiness – and after that Rachel says that she said no to Nick, because she didn’t want to be the reason he is separated from his family. She becomes exactly what Eleanor was saying she can’t be – someone who’s ready to sacrifice their own happiness. And she gracefully walks away. Although I wish I could see more of the turmoil and angst Rachel would go through while making such a choice. It felt like an effortless choice, but I’m sure she herself has to evolve to a place to be able to make that choice. 

I loved the subplot of Astrid and Michael too – because this conflict is a nice branch within the tree of the setting of a crazy rich family. About how people don’t seem enough. Michael never feels enough. And he feels that Astrid is indifferent to him, and in a desperate moment of trying to not be a person whose actions don’t matter, he cheats on her. Time and again it’s proven that, lack of communication and pent up resentment is the main reason for relationships to break apart. When they get to a point where there’s no recovery. Though this story has been told so many times, I don’t remember watching the effect extreme wealth has on its own people and their relationships so well.

Varathan

Varathan (2018)

Directed by: Amal Neerad

Starring: Fahadh Faasil, Aishwarya Lekshmi

Streaming on Disney+Hotstar. 

Loosely based on ‘Straw Dogs’, it’s a very nice survival drama. I like how the film slowly builds up the tension gradually over time. First, they face men ogling when they enter the village. Then Priya sees a man standing outside the window at night. Then, in the bathroom. Then, when they sing a song towards her. The interesting part is about how even the bad guys are written with nuance. They are not outright bad guys right from the beginning. We eventually realize what they are capable of, which Priya had a hunch of all along. I absolutely loved the shot where Priya takes a shower with her clothes on and cries. That one shot, defined the whole film for me – about how suffocating it feels to have to constantly look around for safety, even in your own house. Aishwarya was terrific in that scene. And then the conflict between the couple – about how she essentially tells him to man up. About how she’d have felt safe if her dad was alive. At that point, Abin breaks down because he feels emasculated. That’s his breaking point. 

I loved where the film goes in the last 25 mins – it’s essentially a fight for survival. But I felt that, Abin attacking them with a knife, felt like a bit of a jump for his character. Although, without that we’d not have them attack all into the house. But for that, I felt that something like him jamming the door onto someone’s fingers could also have been a good option – without Abin breaking character but also instigating violence. But post that, I liked how the action was shot and I liked how he fights. By the ending, I like how he stamps the insect, indicating that he won’t let anything enter the space. But the way Priya smiles at Abin in the ending, after he puts up the whole fight had me thinking about something – what if a man can’t physically fight for his woman? This way, the film raises interesting questions about masculinity, love and survival.

Ante Sundaraniki

Written and Directed by: Vivek Athreya

Starring: Nani, Nazriya, Rohini, Naresh, Harsha Vardhan.

This is one of the most emotionally compelling experiences I’ve had in a long long time. This film has one of the best writing I’ve seen in mainstream Indian cinema. Firstly, the film is beautifully rooted in our culture. The very premise of two people going to lengths to convince their families so that they can get married, is very Indian. There is an element of community in this. In an individualistic world, this premise would just be non-existent. I love how both Sundar and Leela were introduced. It starts off as a very personal, coming-of-age story of two characters, because we see them at their deepest vulnerabilities. And then the film evolves from there into something larger. Sundar having his taste of first heartbreak very young in life, fears being the butt of every joke. Leela fears being the one who is never seen or appreciated. And they both find acceptance in each other. That’s why the romance, though not so romantic, it feels very personal. 

Every subplot somehow beautifully fits in the whole story. There is not one scene that you can take off, and have the film stay as organic. I loved the angle of how if you lie about something enough, you basically wait until it becomes the truth. This angle hit me so hard, and it added beautiful depth to the story. The comedy works wonders, and there are so many hilarious moments in the film. Every actor was terrific in the film. One beautiful aspect about the film is that it never judges the characters – it accepts them for who they are and still manages to give them arcs. And that’s beauty and compassion right there.

Vikram (2022)

Written and Directed by: Lokesh Kanagaraj

Starring: Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil

Spoilers Ahead. 

I’m usually not a fan of action, I need something more than just action (pun not intended). This film has enough story and emotional graph to carry the action, and the action just puts the film on another level. Just like Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Kaithi, and Maanagaram, the entire film feels like a big stretch of an action film. And there are good dramatic moments sprinkled. I loved the interval bang, it was a crazy setup for about 10-15 minutes and it all builds up to a banger of a scene. There were definitely some moments where the film relaxes on the pace, but I feel like that’s needed for the film to shine in those moments where it really really takes off. 

I had this discussion with a filmmaker, about how you can’t explain every villain character’s backstory and their origin to be able to write an action film like this. Vijay Sethupathi’s character – we don’t know why he is. But it’s okay. He’s just a bad guy. In this film, he’s an outright menacing psychopathic guy. Sure, they add some layers to him by showing what’s happening in his personal life and stuff, but to create a cinematic universe, you can’t get hung up on trying to explain every character’s emotional graph. I really liked how he merged both the films, and everything builds up to the ending. Suriya’s cameo was mad. The whole ending with all the intercuts and Kamal being in the US, gave me the Dark Knight Rises ending vibes. Really looking forward to see what he does with this universe he’s building.

Major (2022)

Directed by: Sashi Kiran Tikka

Written and Performed by: Adivi Sesh

Spoilers Ahead. 

A life story like this could be told in so many different ways. Major tells it in a conventional way by starting from his childhood – we see how Major was as a kid, how the germ of wanting to be a soldier got into his head, we see his family, his girlfriend and though all of this seems a little dry, it works because that’s how his life was. It was mundane and simple like all of our lives, and suddenly one day something happened, and everything changed. From the moment, the film takes off into the attacks, the film races. I loved the way the action was shot and edited. My favourite fight was the one on one combat with the terrorist in the red T-shirt. I really like the visual grammar of this film and Goodachari too – there are some similarities – we don’t see a lot of wides, it’s mostly shot in closes and tights with the camera constantly moving – even the drama scenes are shot like this. This technique subconsciously makes us feel that the film is racing.

In an otherwise linear narrative, the divorce angle being explored in the middle of high octane action was a brave choice and it really worked for me. Because that was a low point for him in the attacks – he gets injured and has to take a step back, and it’s a low point for him in his life too – he’s not able to be there for the love of his life when she needs him the most. The divorce angle was one thing that made the whole film more than just the attacks, because the love angle and the family is sort of there in everyone’s life. This low point in the second half, sort of encapsulated what it means to be a soldier for me.

Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

Starring: Tom Cruise

I didn't watch the earlier part, so my reading of this film is limited to this film standalone. I enjoyed the conflict of how a son wants to take the place of his father, and how he's affected by the trauma and doesn't want to repeat the same mistakes. It's a very subtle ideological difference in the way they approach things. But I felt that the conflict was too thin. Perhaps, in the first part it would've been more strong because his best friend died because of his aggressive way of functioning. But this film was a derivative of that trauma. I felt like in the whole film, this was the only dramatic angle that was there and I felt like it wasn't enough to carry an entire film on itself. 

For a while, I was intrigued by this whole world of fighter pilots. But after a point, for some reason, I wasn't enjoying it as much. Probably because the action felt similar throughout the film, which I think can't be done much about considering it's action within fighter planes. The opening scene was beautiful. I could feel the tension, the way it was shot and edited. But after that, tension was created in similar ways. Like whenever there was trouble, I felt like the characters would get out of it someway or the other. And the way Maverick keeps breaking rules all the time, it felt like no matter how much you suppress him, he'll break them and go over. So there was not a strong force of antagonism. I don't know, it could probably be just me. But I felt a little let down by the film. 

This Is Us

This Is Us (Season 1)

There was a research done with a huge sample space, spanning over years - about what makes people happy. And the singular conclusion to this very broad question turned out to be - people and the relationships you have with them. Period. Everything else is negotiable. Yes, they found that poverty leads to misery and a certain amount of wealth is needed to erode that. But beyond a certain point, any amount of added wealth doesn't really add up to the happiness. I wrote about this because in the day and age of individualism, ambition and liberty, a show like This Is Us is a gentle reminder about how beautiful it is to have a loving family and a community around. It inspires us to value people around us more. 

One of the most interesting aspects in this show is how the characters feel so much for something we'd naturally not feel so much. For example, if a character's mother dies in a film and the character is crying their lungs out, we understand that. But what makes the characters in This Is Us even more adorable is, the father cries his heart out when one of his three babies is stillborn. This is not a situation that would move everybody. I was thinking, big deal, they have the two other babies. But the father cries his heart out for the life that the baby could've had. This is what makes the show beautiful. It reminds us to not lose our heart. It reminds us to be more loving and compassionate, again and again.

The non-linear structure of the show enriches the experience of the show. It's not just used for style. For example, when we get to know that Rebecca married Jack's best friend Miguel, it's heartbreaking whenever we see Jack and Rebecca being happily in love. We know that this isn't forever. We know that the poor guys didn't know that this wasn't meant to be forever. And in the scene where Jack and Miguel go to watch Rebecca perform, it's just a simple scene based on the setting, but just the sheer placement and the timing of the scene hits us so hard. It talks about how everything could change in a matter of time.

Jack & Rebecca - the story of this couple is so beautiful. Both of them are madly in love with each other, and it's always endearing to see a married couple express love like this day and again. Because, in pop culture, usually romance films end where the couple gets together. So all the romance exists only before they get together. But doesn't the actual story begin after that? Whenever Jack tells Rebecca that she's the most beautiful woman in the whole world, the way he says it, I buy it. I know that Jack means it with all honesty. This inspires us to fall in love and be courageous enough to love with our everything. For me, the best moment was when Jack tells Rebecca that he discovered his purpose in life - which was to make her happy. I could never be that guy, but it's endearing to see one. 

And we see a perfect couple like this go through some shit in their marriage. A couple who we thought could never fight. But then you realize that couples don't fight because they love each other lesser than usual, but because they love each other more than usual. For Jack, when his purpose in his life is to make her happy, he's obviously going to be shaken up with the idea of the marriage falling apart. This is precisely why Jack gets entirely shaken when Rebecca goes to on a tour with her ex-boyfriend. A strong man like him becomes this angsty kid who starts fighting, until he sees Rebecca and settles down. He needs to see her, be safe with her, and know that they'll be fine. That is all he wants. It's so endearing to see a man madly in love with his wife. This is precisely why I really enjoyed Ricky Gervais' After Life too. 

This show depicts different facets of love, one of which is the selfish love. Rebecca says, I cannot lose my kid (Randall). I cannot. You don't how to feel about this. Do you feel good that she feels so much love towards an adopted kid? Or do you feel bad about why even after having 2 kids of her own, why is she being too possessive and selfish about the 3rd one? It's so confusing. You don't love the characters nor hate them in situations like this. You just sit in wonder. 

The Office

Goodbyes stink! I’m not someone who revisits shows, so this is it I guess with ‘The Office’. God! How do you articulate what a show like this does to you? It started off as a silly comedy meant to be a getaway. And as I slowly started to understand the characters, and how broken deep down everyone is, it became a deeply moving experience. I discovered a Michael Scott within me – with his desperation to be loved. I enjoyed parts of Dwight too, and I want to see a bit of him in me – the relentless enthusiasm towards life. Jim & Pam’s story is such a bitch – it gives you hope that even if things are a bit shaky right now, they will eventually fall in place and workout. Is hope, good or bad? Guess we’ll never know.

This show has been my companion over thick and thin for a while now. Irrespective of how I was doing mentally, I’ve always enjoyed watching an episode. I like the dry, cynical, pragmatic worldview towards life that this show offers. This level of honesty and self-awareness is quite rare in today’s pop culture. I like how they don’t shy away from addressing that Kevin looks unattractive, and it’s tougher for him find love. I love the cynic that Stanley is. And I can’t help but love Michael Scott. I’m afraid of how much I love him. In his desperation to be loved, Michael Scott ends up being the most loving guy of all. In his desire to get love, he ends up giving a lot of love – warranted or otherwise. And the world needs more people who have a lot of love to give – to get it back or otherwise.

Michael Scott would be one of my favorite characters of all time, simply because of his ability to show up to work everyday, carry the same enthusiasm through thick and thin, make people laugh (at least he tries), and how without even being aware, he ends up becoming the most loving person of all. He's, indeed, the World's Best Boss.  

Nimic (2019)

Nimic (2019)

Written and Directed by: Yargos Lanthimos
Starring: Matt Dillon
Streaming on MUBI India.

There's a beauty to abstractness. Simply because it's food for thought, and it provides good meat for conversation later. I think the best possible dinner date would be after watching an abstract film. It need not be completely esoteric, but some sprinkling of abstractness is always interesting. This being a short, they sprinkle it all over the film. It's a thriller, horror on the surface, but it's very apparent that it's deeper than that. I like the way they use abstract sound and music to create an eerie-ness. Strangely, this gave me a very similar experience to 'You Were Never Really Here' by Lynne Ramsay. Though the style was different, the space and the tone was a bit similar.

I'd read a few write-ups on the short, as I was gathering my thoughts around it and the one that struck me the most was about how the film is about identity and about how replaceable we all are in this big dooming world. I'm sure we'd all like to believe that we are unique and irreplaceable, but at the end of the day, no matter who you are, if you disappear one day suddenly, the world will mourn depending to how useful you were to the people around, but after a point, the world will adjust and will definitely continue to go on. No one's absence would stop the world. I don't know if this was something the film was trying to say, but this is what I pick even in general with the idea of a doppelganger. Although I wish I could even vaguely pick what the film was trying to say.

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

You Were Never Really Here (2007)

Written and Directed by: Lynne Ramsay
Joaquin Phoenix won the Best Actor, Lynne Ramsay won the Best Screenplay at Cannes.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video. 

Lynne Ramsay has a terrific voice as a filmmaker. There is a lot of rage in her films, which is expressed in a poetic way - which creates a very peculiar tone. It's beautiful and ugly at the same time. It's comforting and discerning at the same time. I really enjoyed her film before this, We Need to Talk About Kevin, too. The thing with thrillers is, except for auteurs like David Fincher or Bong Joon-ho's work, or unless there is a strong directorial voice, I find thrillers to be pretty boring. For me, it either has to basic to the bare minimum, like a survival drama or it needs to have a subtext. In this film, the best part is that, the conflict is simple and basic. A man is hired by a politician to save his daughter, who is underage and is kidnapped for a racket. It's straight on our face. We can see a simple action drama over here. But what makes it more interesting is the character Joe. The demons he's fighting with. The way he's dealing with his own set of trauma. How it keeps coming back to haunt him no matter how what. And how all of this is expressed through abstract imagery and sound design is what makes it interesting. 

In the modern consumerist world, we find ourselves feeling that the things that we think matter, don't really matter. And for once, we'd want to take a break from everything that doesn't really matter. A film made like this, which is treated in a real way delving deeply into the psyche of the characters - it lets us forget everything that doesn't matter and really focus on what matters. In this film, the only thing that matters is the safety of that girl and the sanity of Joe. It doesn't matter how cool Joe looks, it doesn't matter how rich he is. Nothing else matters.