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Reviews
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Worthy of billboards
The Good:
Engaging screenplay with very little to douse the tempo.
Exemplary performances especially from Harrelson and Rockwell. Dinklage impresses despite his short screentime.
Riveting chain of events keeping the temperature of the plot simmering.
The Not-Good:
The sense of incompleteness in the plot leaving some asking for more.
Overall:
A perfect movie for very serious movie fans who indulge in dark cinema and deep character shades. If you appreciate a grim, realistic movie where characters evolve on screen, then this one is for you.
8/10.
Dirty Harry (1971)
Dirty yet Dandy.
The Good:
The tried and tested Hollywood psycho killer hunt plot. A righteously menacing Eastwood in his element. Refreshingly profound character shading. Adequate gun play to keep one hooked. Pragmatic portrayal of the law enforcers' dilemma. Adept editing. Pleasingly creative camera-work. Just and beguiling background score.
The Theek-Thaak:
A pretty straightforward plot with no knots or intricacies to haggle with.
The Bad:
Almost nothing at all.
Overall:
An enticing no-nonsense action thriller with a tight humorless runtime. Recommended for all desi viewers of the genre.
8.5/10.
Foxcatcher (2014)
Slow. Lifelike. Real.
The Good:
Stark performance by Carell. Warm acts by Ruffalo and Tatum. Surprisingly engaging screenplay. Ostensible plot integrity.
The Theek-thaak:
Modest portrayal of time and it's passage through the plot.
The Bad:
Deficient investment in the psychological evolution and backgrounds of characters especially Carell's.
Overall:
Slow, brooding drama for serious cinema admirers. Neither for the regular desi audiences, nor for Wrestling fans.
6.5/10.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)
Needed closure. Unneeded movie.
The Good:
The simple, satisfying closure. The commanding act by Aaron Paul. Continual Wild Western theme. Balance of emotive and stoic characters.
The Bad:
Accompanying background score. An overtly simplistic plot. Palpably sluggish screenplay for a movie format.
The Ugly:
Absolutely unwarranted and somniferous flashbacks adding dismal value to the story. Capitally lazy and sterile writing leading to a viscerally predictable storyline.
Overall:
A fitting end to the Breaking Bad saga but is nothing short of an opportunist encashing attempt using the least of creative thinking and running time constraints of the movie format.
Suited for fans of the series, not for naive audiences.
6.5/10.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Action-Comedy for '90s video gamers
The Good:
Cera's performance. Refreshing cinematography using video-game themes in a non-superhero, non-spoof flick. Use of scene shifting to convey fixation. Rumbling soundtrack. Constrained humour. Winstead's charm.
The Not-So-Good:
Ungrounded plotline lacking depth. Uninspiring overall character development.
The Bad:
Poor use of cast including Kendrick, Franklin and Plaza. Ho-hum, preachy conclusion.
Overall:
A decently entertaining flick for desi audiences who don't brood over details. A proper timepass movie to catch up with friends or partner on a boring weekend.
7.5/10.
Fargo (1996)
Not stylish but impressive 90s' caper
The Good:
Based on true events.
Tight screenplay congruent with attempts at keeping plot grounded in reality.
Lack of blaring or opportunistic background score, augmenting the authenticity of the events.
Plausible performances especially by McDormand and Buscemi.
Veridical characterization bringing out palpable emotions of contempt, anger, frustration, despondency and hustle.
The Mediocre:
Underwhelming humor for a crime flick.
Lack of investment in character development.
Moderately inadequate gore and under-utilization of Stormare's baleful character.
The Bad:
Indolent and static camera work. Typical of 20th century movies.
Overall:
A recommended movie only if you're a fan of true crime or caper genre. Not for the average desi movie buff.
Whiplash (2014)
Suave, spirited and intense. Just like Jazz.
The Good:
Excellent performances, especially by Simmons.
Awe inspiring depiction of a roughshod taskmaster and an impuissant protege.
Palpably precise editing.
Mellisonant soundtrack making one fall in love with jazz even if one weren't a fan.
Deft dodging of melodramatic overtones that's a staple of movies surrounding the theme of music.
Curt handling of the romantic angle.
The Not-so-great:
A little vacuum left by a lack of a backstory and Simmons's character buildup.
Overall:
Watch it for J.K. Simmons's mastery.
Hear it to appreciate the true American musical genre.
8.5/10
Trance (2020)
Bold but baggy
The Good:
Powerful performance by the lead.
Bold movie on a flammable politico-religious issue.
Well placed, amped background score for a drama movie.
High production value. Picturesque picturization.
Cheerful and promising first half.
The Theek-thaak:
The premise of the plot.
The Bad:
Naive editing; the runtime being too long for comfort.
Exsanguinous humor.
Nettly saggy second half with ample wastage of runtime and audience's patience.
This flick suffers with a careless sense of impending adversity.
Disappointing finale to certain pivotal characters.
Overall:
Similar to the actor's 'C U Soon', this film too lacks a solid and sinister presage with the second half spent more on exhibiting acting prowess than on the plot's fertility.
American Animals (2018)
Detailed analysis of novice criminals and their escapade
The Good:
Moralistic plot with a practical (read: autobiographical) flow.
Laudable portrayal of the vagabond American teenagers' psyche and their yearning to break out of the hoi polloi.
Believable performances with amicably casual layout of events.
No unnecessary subplots or deviations or romantic wastage of runtime.
The Theek-Thaak:
Standard heist-movie background score.
Modest editing - could've been tighter.
Non-extravagant production value adding authenticity to the actual events.
The Bad:
The runtime does drag in parts but none towards disorientation.
Absence of humor all throughout.
Screenplay being true events rather than fictional recreations well tend to put off the hard-core crime movie audiences.
Overall:
The movie is more NatGeo documentary and less regular heist movie. So desis may keep their expectations under check.
Drive (2011)
Desi folks may avoid this ride.
The Good:
Intensely satisfying and gory action scenes.
Simple and predictable plot.
Ryan Gosling for white-obsessed desi girls.
Good direction especially in explaining impending action sequences.
The Theek-Thaak:
Modest performances by supporting cast.
except Gosling (they say 'controlled', I say 'expressions').
The Bad:
Gosling's performance reminiscent of Arjun Kapoor in any of his movies.
Lazy editing aiming for effect with drag.
Excruciatingly stretched and elastic scenes.
Poor use of soundtrack.
Almost non-existent background score.
Underwhelming car chase scenes with sad underutilization of closeup shots to emphasize adrenaline and automotive aspects.
Overall:
A lazy, disappointing outing under the high expectations raked up by critic ratings.
C U Soon (2020)
A good experiment worth a miss
The Good:
Bharat's (read: India's, because its Malayalam) first 'Screen Movie'.
Surprisingly aesthetic work form the broader 'Found Footage' genre with negligible motion blur and good quality video all along.
Appreciably short runtime considering desi standards.
No time-gobbling music.
The Mediocre:
Engaging screenplay though the plot increasingly underwhelms with passing runtime.
Minimal, subtle and largely ineffectual use of background score .
Decent performances although Matthew's leaves one wanting for improvement.
The Bad:
A complete neglect of all aspects that make a good thriller. The background score is a real letdown, reducing the movie to a drama form the prospects of a nail-biter.
Dismal and prodigal use of various characters.
The film is utterly bereft of a crucial sinister prognostication which is usually a thickener for such a recipe.
Overall:
If you're a Malayalee and wish to watch something new in Mollywood, this is something you wouldn't exactly adore, but wouldn't frown at either.
Children of Men (2006)
An over-hyped flick as per desi standards.
The Good:
Noel plot with a unique idea of a female infertility pandemic.
Handy camerawork in action and in-car scenes.
Modest portrayal of a world full of political conflicts in medically-challenging times.
The Bad:
Very sparse and otiose use of the cast's acting prowess. Visibly deficient use of close-ups.
A labyrinth of themes, evoking detachment.
Affectedly insipid execution w.r.t. the tempo.
Jejune background score.
Overall:
A movie that too slow for a thriller, too dull for intensity, too murky for action genre, too lazy to be impactful, too soft for drama and too soporiferous for brown audiences.