Sardar Udham Review: A portrait of a man of history and mystery

Sardar Udham Review: A portrait of a man of history and mystery

Movie Review Review

Rating:

Review By: Rahul Babu

Only often do we come across movies that leave a lasting effect on us. Bollywood has produced several so-called patriotic movies just to cash in the sentiments of people but Shoojith Sircar plays differently here. And that makes Sardar Udham a memorable yet painful experience.

Sardar Udham tells the story of a revolutionary freedom fighter who chased down and assassinated Michael O'Dwyer in London to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. Sardar Udham isn't just made to inject patriotism in us but also to educate us about the horrific 1919 massacre and the man who shed blood to avenge it. Shoojith Sircar makes no mistakes nor does he take any fake cinematic liberties to depict Udham's life. The focused and recurring non-linear style of storytelling takes us through the journey of the fighter and the injustice the country has gone through. This film is the slowest of the slow-burning film of the director and he never rushes to any point instead tracks the incident in a steady and straight path.

The remodelling of 1930s London street and the entire pre-independent era is so meticulously constructed with utmost passion. Avik Mukhopadhyay's enigmatic frames are never out of place and the superior visuals add more horror to the incidents. I wonder how someone could make a movie so well crafted and detailed at the same time break all stereotypes. Shoojith Sircar makes sure his British characters are not mere caricatures and leaves them enough space to make their mark.

Without Vicky Kaushal, the movie is soulless, an absolute masterclass performance by the actor who fills the martyr's shoes with ease. Sardar Udham Singh was his destiny and the actor's game-changing performance is gonna attract accolades for sure. Shoojith Sircar exceptionally pulls off the horrendous massacre in the final hour that leaves us with a lump in our throat. The disturbing, gory visuals exhibit the amplitude of the crime with conviction and haunt us even after the credits roll.

I really wish they explored the Bhagath Singh episode a bit longer. For some of you the overstretched narrative might sound unsettling. But Sardar Udham is a craft you need to witness with utmost patience. This cinematic version of India's unsung hero stands top among the historical dramas made in India. Congratulations Bollywood you finally have a winner!. 

Arlina

Free Guy Review: Life's too short be a background character

Free Guy Review: Life's too short be a background character

MovieReview Review

Review By: Akash DS

Rating:

With Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds gave us a raunchy reimagining of what a superhero movie can look like, and now he's giving long-maligned video game movies new life with a Free Guy, an action-comedy full of bold fun, fan service, and a few flaws.

Reynolds is endearingly optimistic in the role of guy an oblivious NPC living in an inventive fictional video game. He was happy with his simple albeit regularly violent life in a free city before meeting Molotov girl played by Killing Eves star Jody Comer. To get the girl of his dreams guy snatches a pair of sunglasses that let him see the world as the players do, full of power-ups loot and missions. That makes for some fun call-outs to the world of video games with nods to super Mario brothers grand theft auto Fortnite and more.

Director sean levy consistently enthrals with the action in the foreground and then scores laugh by plopping random carnage in the background. There's a frequent contrast between calm and calamity that effectively establishes the wacky world of the free city while also being consistently hilarious.

Reynolds is a perfectly lucky leading man veering away from the snarky reputation he's built in recent years. In free guy, he drops all that edge to play a truly hopeless romantic. 

Guy's openness about his unapologetic glee and fear as he becomes a player in free city is as exhilarating as Reynold enthusiasm is contagious. It's the zeal of Deadpool minus the baggage and r-rated shenanigans. It all works in no small part because of Reynolds undeniable screen presence and sharp comedic timing. Unfortunately, though this movie isn't acted to free guy opens up to split its focus between a guy and the creators of his game who were at war over coding copyright. Here's where free guy moves from fun to fun blin gun surprisingly watching programmers argue about lawsuits and troubleshooting isn't all that entertaining even if Taika is cast as their obnoxious adversary.

Free Guy delivers an outrageously entertaining first hour that is stuffed with gonzo action goofy gangster power big ideas and plenty of easter eggs for lovers of movies and video games. However, in its second half, the joyful journey is derailed by a slog of a sidequest in the real world. Falling short of the potential setup. Still, Reynolds delivers riotously rollicking fun in an eye-popping imaginative environment that treats gaming like the wonderland it is. So even with its deeply wonky detour free guy is a freewheeling wild ride with playful humour and some special moves.

Arlina

Rashmi Rocket Review: Unstoppable as she races ahead with grit

Rashmi Rocket Review: Unstoppable as she races ahead with grit

Movie Review Review

Rating:

The movie provided a glimpse of showcasing an aspect that has not been covered by many sports biopics in Bollywood rather than the simplistic approach of portraying an underdog story Rashmi Rocket progresses to initially showcase a journey of an athlete and move on to shed light on the regressive controlling and binary notion that comes with gender tests.

Rashmi Rocket focuses on Rashmi played by Taapsee Pannu who grows up in Gujarat is given the nickname of Rocket due to her fast pace when she grows up and becomes a tour guide of the area she is motivated by captain Gagan Thakur played by Priyanshu Painyuli to showcase the world her gifted talent of agility and pace barking upon immediate success Rashmi met with animosity within her own team politics from influential figures that curtail her growth and finally the infamous gender test that solidifies in the minds of the public that she was not a woman within the confines of an athletic federation the court case in order to uplift her ban forms the second half of the film and how it transpires to educate the viewer and expand their thought process of what constitutes a woman be it the clothes she wears the colour of her skin the decision she makes or more importantly her testosterone levels.

Taapsee manages to effortlessly go under the skin of her character and make you root for her. The dedication and hard effort she has put into building an athletic body for the role will leave you speechless, especially in the close-up views of her sprinting on the tracks. Her talent as an actor has been proven without a shadow of a doubt by her filmography and the concerns that each of them has raised. Rashmi Rocket appears to be the latest addition to the list, this time criticising the inequitable and outdated practice of gender testing on female athletes. Taapsee looks stunning during and after her medical examination in the flick. She successfully conveys Rashmi's emotions of befuddlement, fury, and helplessness, particularly in the emotional passages, with sincerity. "Kuch toot sa gaya hai andar," she says Gagan (Painyuli), and you know exactly what she means as she fights with her whole identity and existence being questioned by everyone around her.

Sadly, Amit Trivedi's music does not impress. No song, whether it's Rann Ma Kutchh, Zidd, or Ghani Cool Chori, manages to stay with you. The background soundtrack is also uninspiring, failing to raise some of the usually exciting passages. The editing, especially in the first half, might have been tighter. Aniruddha Guha's script and Kanika Dhillon's extra dialogues aren't exactly hard-hitting, but they do contain a few sparks here and there. In terms of directing, Khurana seemed to be unsure whether he intended Rashmi Rocket to be a sports picture or a courtroom drama, and it shows in the execution.

Arlina

Just Beyond Review: A Bewildering Anthology by R.L. Stine

Just Beyond Review: A Bewildering Anthology by R.L. Stine

Review Series Review

"Just Beyond," a new Disney anthology series inspired by R.L. Stine's novels, is an eight-episode anthology series that offers amazing and thought-provoking stories about a realm just beyond our own, including witches, aliens, ghosts, and parallel universes.

Each episode is absolutely distinct, with a new cast of characters and performers, making this series stand out from everything else on Disney+ thus far. Because each episode is 30 minutes long, the pacing for each tale is typically very rapid, with a brief set-up before getting directly to the primary emphasis of the storey and a climax. For the Halloween season, make them all into single bites of frightening delight.

The anthology kicks off with The Amazing Spider-Man and Gifted director Marc Webb’s short Leave Them Kids Alone, which has Mckenna Grace in the lead along with Nasim Pedrad. The segment deals with conditioning children and making them compliant to the norms, even those who stand out. A School for Difficult Children is used to tell the narrative. Due to its obvious plot and drab presentation, this is the anthology's poorest storey.

The second piece, Parents Are From Mars, Kids Are From Venus, is a jumbled, uninteresting short about two kids who discover something strange about their parents. It's also one of the two portions that has science fiction themes. Even a reference to Steven Spielberg's E.T. isn't enough to salvage this storey.

However, Which Witch, featuring a fantastic Rachel Marsh as a teenager with unusual abilities who struggles to blend in with the average crowd, kicks up the pace of the anthology. The episode is plenty of laughter and also covers important themes such as embracing one's own individuality and avoiding peer pressure.

The finest part in Just Beyond is without a doubt Standing Up For Yourself. The storey follows a bully named Trevor Larkin, whose father pretty much runs the town, and spans almost a witty but just version of Groundhog Day. Trevor's life, as well as that of the town, changes after he assaults a specially-abled adolescent at school. The episode is also the most cinematic of the eight since it is told entirely from the perspective of a bully.

The Treehouse, the last episode, is about a teen whose father died a year ago. He is sent to an other reality after lightning strikes his treehouse, where he meets his mother and father, but the only problem is that he is not their son in that realm. The moving narrative explores loss and the process of reconstructing one's life.

Stand Up For Yourself, We've Got Spirits, Yes We Do, My Monster, and Which Witch — in that order – are our best selections out of the eight. Because the episodes are under 30 minutes, it's ideal for a weekend binge or a fast viewing during your lunch break.

Arlina

Udanpirappe Review: A well-constructed family drama that needs a lot of patience to watch

Udanpirappe Review: A well-constructed family drama that needs a lot of patience to watch

Movie Review Review

Rating:

Udanpirappe is the most recent film to attempt to join the list of Tamil films that have shown a brother-sister connection. The film opens with a gang of thugs chasing Vairavan (Sasikumar), a ruffian whose life revolves around his family, through a hamlet near Pudukkottai. He gets to say a few lines about farming (which has become somewhat of a must for heroes in Tamil cinema in recent years in films set in small towns), which are backed by an outstanding background soundtrack by Imman, though it does remind us of a few of his earlier works.

As the title suggests, Udanpirappe is focused on the relationship between Vairavan (Sasikumar) and 

Maathangi (Jyothika), who had previously had unpleasant difficulties and have been separated from one another as a result of what has occurred. As they strive to solve the problems, other ones arise, and what happens next is the story's central theme.

Era. Saravanan gives the picture an old-school vibe and dives deeply into the character's emotions. The first half of the film is highly hectic, and it does not waste time establishing its characters one by one; instead, it goes with the flow and gets the ideas through about why the conflicts amongst the characters arose. However, the film has some flaws in the second half, with pacing concerns surfacing. The thrilling closing stretch, on the other hand, is guaranteed to appeal to the public and have a lasting impression.

In the film, Sasikumar gives a mature and appealing portrayal, performing everything asked of him with great conviction. The performer makes a good first impression, which works in the film's favour. Jyothika, on the other hand, is cast in a magnificent role that is a complete departure from her second innings performance. Her second-half performance is particularly noteworthy. Samuthirakani is excellent as the stern instructor, and the cast is well-led by Sija Rose and Soori.

Velraj's cinematography is excellent throughout the film, giving it a very realistic sense. Imman's music doesn't have any amazing tunes, but his re-recording works.

Where to watch : Prime Video

Arlina

Thalaivi Review: A Lukewarm Attempt At Recreating A Magnanimous Story

Thalaivi Review: A Lukewarm Attempt At Recreating A Magnanimous Story

Movie Review Review

Rating:

The film Thalaivii is a biopic based in the life of Jayalalithaa, popularly addressed as 'Amma', the film focuses on the journey of the celebrated and popular individual from her young days of acting her budding romance with mgr her introduction into politics urged by the love of her life the unfortunate demise of the political figure and acting legend the hurdles jaya faces in order to become the political heir of the party dealing with the vitriol of the gatekeepers mostly men that constantly protected the vested interests of ngr and finally her rise to prominence to become what we all know and remember her as.

Arvind Swamy has used prosthetics and makeup but it is uncanny how similar he looks to MGR  being privy to vintage Tamil cinema and just through all the MGR footage that come across swami looks like an absolute spitting image of the legend. On the other hand, Kangana’s acting is over-the-top. She goes way overboard in her emotional scenes. Her close-up shots are cringe-worthy. But she does have some good moments during a dinner scene at her house when she talks about how much she loves MGR.It goes on to the extent that she is manhandled and as the scene takes place, she absurdly narrates about being treated like Draupadi in Mahabharata.

The film gets repetitive after a point. It constantly switches between acting, politics and the love story between Jaya and MGR. Apart from that, the film makes Krishna’s references when talking about love and medu vada in a petty fight. The latter reference actually gets pretty nasty. Raj Arjun, the villainous assistant to MGR, is powerful. His constant face-offs with “Jaya” or Kangana Ranaut are something to look forward to in "MS Dhoni: The Untold Story". And of course, he shines as an actor much more than Kangana.

Thalaivi was expected to do well at the box office, but it sank faster than expected after the inevitable death of its star. Kangana Ranaut as Jayalalitha tried her best to hold the film together, but her efforts were not enough. The second half of the film was chaotic and rushed; trying too hard to spread a message of The most absurd point of the movie is when Jaya gets plump out of nowhere. While she is seen as slim, trying to walk on her own in one scene, right in the next, she is seen standing with the bandage on her neck, a plump face and giving out orders to people.

While the film was already hard to follow because of its ridiculous and absurd scenes, Vijay and Kangana Ranaut had another surprise in store for the audience. The film ends on a random note, where Kangana practically threatens people to call her Amma or… if that is how Vijay wanted people to remember amma.

Verdict:

Avoid Thalaivii if you want to retain good memories of J. Jayalalithaa. The only reason to watch this film is Arvind Swami, without who, even Kangana Ranaut cannot stand out in the film.

Arlina

House Of Secrets: The Burari Deaths Review : The Strangest True Story Of A Delhi Family That Mysteriously Ended.

House Of Secrets: The Burari Deaths Review : The Strangest True Story Of A Delhi Family That Mysteriously Ended.

Review Series Review

Rating:

Early on 1 July 2018, the residents of Sant Nagar, Burari, an overcrowded neighbourhood of North Delhi, made an alarming discovery. Three generations of the Chundawat family, also known as the Bhatias, were found bound and hanging in their home.

The three-part Netflix documentary series House Of Secrets: The Burari Deaths (2021), directed by Leena Yadav and Anubhav Chopra, is an insightful but hard watch about the untold secrets of the family that led to this horrifying tragedy.

The first episode, which features the inputs of the neighbours, police officers, crime branch officers and other family members, takes us through what was discovered that day. Each salacious detail unearthed threw the media into a frenzy. The news that had spread quickly about the murder case was disturbing. However, as details emerged, reporters realized that this incident was far more disturbing than they thought before. Eleven members of the family, ranging in age from 15 to 80, were found hanging, blindfolded with their hands bound and cotton in their ears. The elderly matriarch, Narayani Devi, was the only one found in another room. The family dog Tommy was the sole voiceless survivor.

Yadav and her team travelled to the families’ hometowns in Dhar and Narayngarh to interview the perplexed, grieving families of Savita and Tina, the two daughters-in-law. The surviving siblings who did not live in Delhi were unable to come to terms with the concept of mass suicides.

The Chundawats’ neighbours, employees and friends have nothing but good things to say about the tightly knit family. In fact, they had been celebrating the upcoming engagement of 33-year-old Priyanka. As episodes, two and three revealed, this case was more complicated than was reported: there were signs that a havan (ritual pyre) had also been present. The series showcases the inner workings of a family due to the extensive diaries they kept and their immense wealth. Viewers get to see the youngest son, 47-year-old Lalit, who became de facto head of the family after his father Bhopal Singh’s death. The show delves into the far-reaching influence of the late patriarch.

The series, which includes those assigned to and covering the case at the time, along with psychologists and psychiatrists, looks at the difficult questions about mental health that we collectively ignore in society. We want these questions to remain inside the family. House Of Secrets was produced by Yogendra More and Katherine Leblond. The series features a non-intrusive but compelling score, composed and produced by AR Rahman and Qutub-e-Kripa. It has been shot by Aseem Bajaj, Anshuman Singh Thakur and Anirban Chatterjee.

This series uses CCTV and news footage and home videos to give us a sense of the furore that surrounded the case. It also includes recreations and interviews with those involved at the time to give us a better understanding of events.

The series covers all aspects of the incident, so much so that one wonders whether the eerie occurrence was really a mass suicide or a series of murders or just one giant tragedy. Those involved in the case are scratching their heads. Like many documentaries, there are answers, yes, but it also raises many questions whose answers can only be proffered by those who are no more.

Where to Watch: Netflix[button_danger]

 

Arlina

Bhramam Review: A remake that goes awfully wrong

Bhramam Review: A remake that goes awfully wrong

Movie Review Review

Rating:
Review By: Rahul Babu

Remakes can go terribly wrong sometimes and we have experienced a lot in the past across various industries. Bhramam the Malayalam remake of cult hit Andhadhun will make you realise how good the original was. 

Bhramam is a muddled attempt that doesn't take itself seriously at any point. I wonder how Prithviraj, a man who delivered quality films in the past, agreed to sign this pile of shit. What was the intention of the director ? I wish I could understand the mindset of the maker while the idea of remaking such a masterpiece was going inside his head. It's really frustrating to watch a set of quality actors performing unbelievably bad in a totally awful narration. 

I quite admire Ravi. K. Chandran's idea of making this more funnier but at the end the whole movie turned out to be funny but not the way the director wanted. There aren't much change of narrative from the original yet Brahmam isn't bearable even as a standalone film. The force-fitted comedies and substandard making shows how a quality script can turn into a disastrous movie. 

It's the cast that makes even the bland script a bit acceptable but Bhramam loses it full control over there and makes us curse the time we spend on this shit. I can only pray for Mamta Mohandas that Tabu doesn't end up seeing that monoact. 

If you still wanna experience Bhramam then approach it with lower expectations you might enjoy bits of it. Rest go and revisit the original and refresh your minds.

Arlina

Maid Limited Series Review: One of Netflix's best shows this year

Maid Limited Series Review: One of Netflix's best shows this year

Review Series Review

2021 | 18+ | 1 Season | TV Shows Based on Books

Rating:

After fleeing an abusive relationship, a young mother finds a job cleaning houses as she fights to provide for her child and build them a better future. Margaret Qualley Stars Alex, She's a young mom, who finds herself up against insurmountable odds at just about every turn, when she decides to escape her abusive relationship. 

This limited series is 10 episodes of just claustrophobic and suffocating drama. The series is wildly addictive but it's also emotionally draining now. Qualley is vulnerable defeated and then indomitable when it comes to her daunting circumstances. This poor girl just can't catch a  break and when it seems like she's about to the entire world comes crashing down again. Alex is a very sympathetic character and not just because of her circumstances she exudes this inner worth that makes us feel compassion and root for her but there are sometimes too though where she's is her own worst enemy. The story unfolds more and moreover the episodes we get insight into Alex's upbringing and her environments that really did help to shape where she's at now. The cast of characters in this is an awesome mix of insanity compassion and anger.

Via: Netflix

Andie MacDowell's place is Alex's mom, it is an amazing performance she is sweet and stabbing and just an emotional tornado. Every interaction is unreliable and stressful but then it's also sadistically enjoyable. MacDowell absolutely nails her character crafting somebody who is hard to take in but yet someone we can't tear our eyes away from.

Anika Noni Rose plays this wealthy woman whose house is clean by Alex and just like all of the characters in Alex's life she is emotionally uneven with some interactions being very and compassionate and then others just being rude and biting.

We love one of the themes in this show is how we can have Alex who cleans organize messes for other people's lives and never gets the opportunity to do it for herself. Overall Maid is an emotionally draining drama with a central character who is charismatic and sympathetic the limited series is wrought with anxieties we watch our protagonist gain strength and self-confidence amidst terrible circumstances

The acting is phenomenal creating characters that are wildly complex and evoking a gamut of emotions and sometimes at breakneck speeds while the show is long and there' are some opportunities to trim it down some the end result is a powerful examination of women fighting the world.

There's sex no nudity a ton of profanity and some violence which also includes descriptions and the aftermath of domestic abuse.

Where to Watch : Netflix[button_danger]

Rurouni Kenshin: The Final’ Review : A thrilling samurai spectacle

Rurouni Kenshin: The Final’ Review : A thrilling samurai spectacle

Movie Review Review

Review By: Akash DS

2021 | 16+ | 2h 19m | Action & Adventure

Language : Japanese

Ruroni Kenshin: The Final, and the fourth part of Ruroni Kenshin Series. It's a samurai-based big-budget Japanese Action movie by director Keishi Ōtomo.

The main plot was the story of 1879 Japan before they got Independence. It's a continuation of the other three parts of Rurouni Kenshin (2012), Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (2014), and Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (2014).

There is an assassin named Himura Battousai (Actor: Takeru Satoh) he is a dangerous guy in this movie. The hero has a superpower in this movie. That means he can kill people with the sword (Katana) and the fact that he can kill 1000 people with one sword. After the main war, he promises that he does not use the sword anymore to kill people within it. And after the pledge, he has taken some changes in his life from an assassin to a traveler and choose his name as Ruroni Kenshin for self-identification that he is no more an assassin.

But eventually, the problems occurred and he has to face some problems without breaking his promise using his Backblaze.

Here, in this movie he protects the people the same as however, the Government protects the people. In that peaceful place, some people cames and make huge violence. Vengeance from a misunderstood. There is a twist, that makes the movie great. As compared to other parts, fighting style and geographical appearance are a little bit changed in this movie. Fight scenes are really appreciated and the bgm is very attractive and accurate for the situation that makes sense to us. With the power full Music by Naoki Satō, the movie gives goosebumps.

Where to watch in India: Watch on Netflix [button_danger]

Arlina