aamilsyed Reviews

Mast Mein Rehne Ka (2023)

A poignant love letter to the thing called life

[9/10 · 16 April 2024]

The poster for this film and even the trailer are quite misleading. It makes one think that this is just another slapstick hooligan style comedy flick with no depth. That's not at all what this film is about! The film is funny, sad, hopeful, hopeless, serious and cheerful at different stages, much like real life and truly gives one the slice of life cinema experience. Even though the film focusses on the underbelly of Mumbai, it doesn't have a voyeuristic view of it. Surprisingly the film combines that perspective, with the loneliness epidemic of senior citizens in the city and manages to juxtapose these two quite well!

But what truly appealed to me about the film was it's smooth story-telling by the director and fantastic acting by Jackie Shroff, who is so effortless that it feels like the role was written only for him. Don't get me wrong, Neena Gupta, Monika Panwar and Abhishek Chauhan; all delivered stellar performances but Shroff simply hit it out of the park. He brought the drama into the movie and gave it depth that allows it to be a tearjerker without actually meaning to be one.

I look forward to the work of Vijay Maurya after watching this movie, which is going to be on my "underrated gem" list for a long time to come!

Ankhon Dekhi (2013)

Your life is a sum total of your experiences

[8/10 · 29 July 2023]

The protagonist of the film is almost the personification of life itself - whimsical, unpredictable, loving and yet indifferent. But his trajectory alone would not have been enough to make this a great film. Every character brings a colour to this portrait of the beautiful mundane existence of a North Indian family. With all its foibles and struggles and everything that makes one resent it, this every day existence is ultimately what makes life worth living and seeing through till the end.

Credit must be given to the director and writer who captured this essence of life. They have shown the cramped household with the harangued housewife, the frustrated younger brother and his wife, the anguished daughter and the troubled son - all trying to make sense of a head of the family who has lost interest in being that. But they have not done it with a gaze of disgust, but they celebrate the resilience of this family that keeps going despite all this to see life through to the end.

The lens of the director on this family is almost romantic but ultimately it stays true to life and its ups and downs. This makes one see that this is the natural course of life.

This film does not have any sermons or metaphors like other films that claim to teach you something. It simply shows you something and leaves the interpretation to you. I love this kind of storytelling and recommend this film to everyone. While people have said that this film has a sad ending, let me remind them that life always has an ending, whether it is a sad or happy one, depends on what we make of it.

Kohrra (2023– )

Overhyped, poorly acted and even more poorly written glorification of police brutality and excesses

[5/10 · 23 July 2023]

There has been a slew of series in the past few months that are trying to cash in on the Indian public's thirst for police brutality. While some shows have added nuance and turned a critical eye on themselves and shown some sense of self-awareness, this show drops the pretence and goes all out to woo the people who like to watch liberals get beat up black and blue by police bros who don't give a damn about procedure or laws.

But despite gleefully carrying police brutality on its shoulders, this show could've also come up with a great story about virulent toxic masculinity in Punjab and delivered a great social message. But why do that when you can deliver a smorgasbord of pulp fiction tropes, drizzled with copious amounts of violence and gore for the brain-dead zombie consumers of Indian OTT.

Please don't fall for the hype and avoid this pathetic excuse for a show.

Laabam (2021)

A socialist potboiler

[8/10 · 28 March 2023]

When I started watching the movie, I did so for Vijay and his charisma. However, the message of socialism and Marxism ideals of the maker of this movie shone through every scene in the movie. The movie lacks in production value and script could be better polished, but as a medium for spreading the message of socialism, it was really good. Only thing is that socialism doesn't come so easy as it did in this movie.. so that might be a little misleading. However, the movie itself didn't disappoint on any front and entertained and educated in good measure. I heartily recommend this movie to all Vijay fans, but even other comrades might watch this movie to enjoy it.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

The book has a better story, but movie is still good

[7/10 · 26 March 2022]

There are many problematic things in this movie. Why are the apes, who are so advanced that they have guns, still living inside caves? Why did the spaceship crash land at the beginning of the movie? How did the woman astronaut die? Surely time must have passed the same for those who were awake as for those who were asleep.. after all Taylor was recording his story while others were sleeping. Lastly, why the apes must make such an elaborate mythology about humans when they are no longer intelligent?

The book presents a better story with an even better ending than the movie. It doesn't have these plotholes and the apes in the book are advanced enough to have their own space program. I think one ought to read the book to truly find out if it's better, but one can still watch this movie as a start.

Dhuin (2022)

If Kiarostami was in Darbhanga

[9/10 · 26 February 2022]

With the dirt, pollution and general wretchedness of Indian small town world, it's hard to portray it in a way that evokes a sense of nostalgia and yearning. This film does that in a way that it truly elevates the style to a new level for Indian films.

Darbhanga is all too human and yet larger than life as a backdrop for this film that takes a serious look at the struggle of youth and ways dreams are dreamt and then shattered on the daily.

However, the tone is not dark or one of hopelessness; it gives a deep "we will live to fight another day" vibe. The dreams are not shattered, they are just kept away in the mind, to be dreamed another day.

All of the tongue in cheek banter between the protagonists against the scale of their reality is wrapped up neatly by the background score that just pushes the film from good to excellent.

I loved everything about this film and I think most film lovers will feel the same way.

Chef (2014)

Probably the best feel good movie I've seen in this decade

[8/10 · 13 March 2021]

There's not much going on in this movie, but I literally watched every second of it and was really disappointed when it ended.. it was such a feel good movie! There's just a few scenes where I felt that Jon Favreau could have done better.. There's a scene where his son is about to serve a burnt sandwich to someone who isn't paying.. now first of all, it's hard to believe that a sensitive kid like that would ever do such a thing, but the way Jon takes him in the back and gives him a load of crap about him being good at this instead of telling him to treat people well, that just really didn't make sense to me. Also the scene where he's telling him he can't work on his truck.. well he should've explained why.. but he simply says it can't be done. Those conversations should've been handled better because the movie was all about those conversations. But everyone in the movie was good otherwise. Sofia was such a beautiful presence in the movie and even Scarlett.. the food scenes are also done really well! Nice movie. Do watch it!

His House (2020)

A surprisingly good horror story with a lot going for it!

[8/10 · 16 December 2020]

I'm annoyed that this isn't rated higher. I think the story was done pretty well and the horror (with the jumpscares and creepy mind bending) was also quite good. There's also a really stark portrayal of refugee life in Europe and brought out the dread, insecurity, tension and sorrow in a solid way. Acting is top notch by both leads. Must watch!

Marianne (2019)

Get's boring real quick

[5/10 · 16 December 2020]

When I started watching the series, it felt promising. But soon it devolves into yet another Catholic witch hunt type story that depends heavily on witch trials and inquisition of medieval Europe that were not only horrible, but also a blight on humankind. To pass off that farce as reality and to suggest that witches existed (even for the plot) is a lazy and poor way of storytelling. There are much better ways to create horror than to uphold age old customs and practices that targeted the marginalized and often resulted in murders.

Pati Patni Aur Woh (1978)

Poorly made film that has aged terribly

[1/10 · 15 November 2020]

The story really drags and the acting by everyone is below par. Not somehing I expected from Sanjeev "Jubilee" Kumar. The jokes are crass, sexist and borderline sleazy and the entire movie looks worse than a perverted B grade film.

Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru (2016)

Too many plot holes and just average direction

[6/10 · 25 September 2020]

How can a police officer who has taken a shine to a new recruit completely lose track of him after their almost fatal accident? How can a smart recruit who keeps surprising his boss on the first day of his job misunderstand his boss's motives? How can someone who has seen a short glimpse of someone while driving on a poorly lit flyover remember it well enough after 5 years of coma to recognise it the instant they see it? Why does your own son not come and meet you in your office or leave a message at your desk to call him up in a major emergency that involves him killing someone and his girlfriend getting raped? How can someone have the foresight to lie about their own name to someone who they are stalking? And why would you even tell them your name in the first place?

And the main police officer seems like a caricature of a smart cop.. looking for validation from a new recruit and having a terribly incompetent team around him. That's now how a good cop functions at all.. anyway.. I did like the pacing of the film, but the ending was especially bad. There was no reason for the death of the main guy (Deepak) and there was really no reason for the recruit (Gautham) to kill him to avenge 5 years of his life lost.. why didn't he kill the murderer instead? And did he really not trust or respect his boss and mentor enough to listen to their reasons for doing something? Uff.. I just hated the ending.. could've been done so much better

Kappela (2020)

Good acting but poor script

[6/10 · 16 July 2020]

Lot of plot holes in the movie. The film is visually stunning and acting is really good, but most of the movie is spent building up to a twist that was jarring, out of place and unbelievable. If the writer had stuck with a simpler script, it could've been a much better movie.

McLibel (2005)

Anybody who says this is one sided has not received the message of the film

[10/10 · 24 June 2020]

One of the things that the protagonists had to explain was that how come their leaflets didn't have McDonald's views on it? They countered that by asking if any McDonald's adverts also talk about how several organizations and many research papers talk about the dangers of consuming McDonald's food.. they insisted that in a world flooded with McDonald's propaganda, their leaflet *was* the balance. So it is with this film. There's a lot of films that favour corporations and show them in a positive light. If you want a balance, go watch those films after you've watched this one.. but please stop harping about balance and being one-sided etc.. this is not a film that seeks to be kind to McD's.. it's a film that seeks to tell the story from the protagonists point of view and they do so extraordinarily well and on a shoestring budget. Anyone who's not talking about that and instead crying about how one sided the film is, is probably not the most unbiased reviewer (if you know what I mean..)

Midsommar (2019)

Deeply unsettling

[10/10 · 30 March 2020]

Not a movie for everyone.. not even a movie more of an experience

Crocodile Dundee (1986)

Hasn't aged well at all

[5/10 · 11 December 2019]

This film might have been popular in the 80s with its overt racism, miaogyny and trans and homo phobia. However, the film is incredibly offensive and tries to pass off problematic behavior as naivety.. which is disingenuous. Only cis-hetero white people can appreciate this movie without feeling any uneasiness. I hope they stop lauding this movie and see it for what it is.. racist, sexist and transphobic.

Chopsticks (2019)

This movie should've been a short film

[3/10 · 2 June 2019]

Incredibly slow and empty plot that goes nowhere and has a lot of filler. Even as a short film, this would've sucked, but at least I wouldn't have wasted my 2 hrs on it.

The Intouchables (2011)

Great acting by Sy, but seems like a French remake of Pretty Woman (typical boring rich man story)

[6/10 · 27 April 2019]

Western filmmakers tend to make stories where someone poor who has zest for life meets someone really rich, but tired of life and turns their life around. In such movies, one often sees the impact that the poor person has on rich person's life, but seldom do the filmmakers try to tell the story from the poor person's point of view. The focus is the rich man and his boring life and how it can be turned around by a poor person who sees it in a different light. Towards the end of the movie, the poor person gets little or nothing out of the exchange, but the rich guy walks away with deep insights and a newfound will to live. It's really unfair how such films portray poor people (recurring trope of them being awestruck by bathrooms) and paint them as incapable of doing anything unless aided by the money from the rich person. I think that's because the target audience is rich people who will pay to watch a movie which gives them some hope.

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013–2018)

Wish he actually did some exploring rather than hanging out with expats all the tkmt

[7/10 · 22 June 2018]

Anthony is a good host. I don't care that he praises all the food everywhere; I'm not depending on his review of the food anyway. What I'm really looking for is the thrill of adventure and Anthony's acerbic wit as he explores the places. Unfortunately, he mainly ends up spending most of his time with expat restaurant-ers instead of spending more time with the locals. I don't want to know what an expat thinks of the local cuisine or politics! I don't want to see where he takes you. I'd rather they did some research and got in touch with locals who could show them around. Also, lose the rockstar image and terrible background score, please?

Arrival (II) (2016)

Jeremy Renner needs to go away.

[5/10 · 27 March 2017]

The only reason I'm giving it 5 stars is because of the beautiful cinematography. But otherwise, this movie is mind- numbingly boring. Right from Forest Whitaker's (the token Black person in this white movie) incredibly clichéd faux intensity (I don't know how he manages to pull it off time after time) to Jeremy Renner's annoying presence on screen; everything about this movie is annoying from the get go. And I've not even come to the entirely unrelatable Amy Adams, who bonds more with the alien than Renner, but still somehow ends up with him.

Totally missable movie. Another example of Hollywood taking an excellent concept (circular time) and just making a very shitty movie out of it.

Court (2014)

An honest reflection of justice in our society

[10/10 · 4 May 2015]

In George Orwell's 1984, the worst possible thing that could happen to a person was not death. Perhaps it was a painful death full of tortuous days of agony leading to a pathetic end? Not at all. Instead, it was the systematic annihilation of the existence of a person, wiping them right off the face of the earth, leaving not a single trace of them ever having existed.

This is 2015 and Orwell's spine chilling predictions have not come true. Not for us, at least. Yet, for scores of individuals, this is a fate that awaits them. As soon as they are born, they are dehumanized and disenfranchised and pushed into a corner to wither and perish away into oblivion. As if they had never existed at all.

Court is a story on one such individual and it describes what happens when such an individual decides to speak out and rally his people to claim their rights, their basic human rights, their inalienable fundamental rights; from those who deny it to them.

In the simplest manner possible, by a deliberate silence maintained throughout the film, Chaitanya Tamhane weaves a story of heart wrenching contrasts and cruel indifference that plagues our society.

It is not easy to watch this movie and Chaitanya perhaps knew this, because he has expertly crafted many interludes into the film that help you transition from one scene to another. This gives you pause to reflect on what just happened, because almost every scene tells a story of its own that needs its own space to grow.

This film is stark, real and incredibly impactful. It deliberately makes you stop and take notice and it doesn't take no for an answer, it virtually forces you to think about what's happening.

This isn't a film for everybody, but for those whom it is intended for, nothing could've been better. Hats off to this directorial debut!

Porco Rosso (1992)

A heart-warming tale with brilliant artwork

[9/10 · 14 January 2015]

I loved every bit of the movie and the only reason I'm giving it 9/10 is because it ended too soon for me.

This is the kind of animation movie that makes one feel good about living in this world. Such beautiful and breath-taking art work of the sky and numerous planes that fly in it! There is no real villain in this story and that is why it feels so good to watch it. It's a happy story (albeit a bit short) and the animation style is a treat to watch.

The story is one that kids and adults alike will enjoy. And adults especially will enjoy it more as it brings back memories of a childhood of ambitious heroes and shiny gadgets. Porco Rosso himself is adorable and he made me nostalgic and happy at the same time.

You should definitely watch it.

Ikiru (1952)

A classic and a masterful work of art.

[10/10 · 24 December 2013]

There's little that I need to say about Akira Kurosawa, one of the greatest film-makers to have walked the earth. This is perhaps his simplest and most stirring movie. A simple setting, a very straightforward story line and very real characters. There was nothing extraordinary about this movie, except the journey that it will take you on.

For a little over two hours, you become a bureaucrat in the pre- reformation Japanese society. You start off as a corrupt officer of the government and you then go on to experience apathy, sorrow, grief, revival, struggle, disappointment and then finally inner peace.

The movie is not just about Japanese society. It is not a commentary on the state of affairs at that time. It is a brilliant take on the human condition itself. A telling tale of transformation, by whatever means, of a human being into a humane being. Yet, it is bitter-sweet in the sense that even such a metamorphosis doesn't really change things too much. People see the man and his transformation, they hear his story. Some of them even weep for him and grieve, but in the end, they all move on. C'est la vie!

A must watch for all movie aficionados and a movie worthy of being cherished. A classic and a masterful work of art. I assure you that when Watanabe sits on the swing and sings his final song, you will feel that lump in your throat.