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Mubeop Byeonhosa (2018)
Another outstanding drama from LJG and team
LJG has a knack of turning out really high quality work, irrespective of how few roles he is in. All of his work is different - edgy, interesting, deep. This one is no different. There are countless dramas about the courtroom but this one is more than a legal drama. It has superb action, revenge as its background theme, fabulous complex villains, beautifully etched side characters, and just a fabulous lead pair that make the whole relationship come alive.
Choi Min Soo and Lee Hye Young are absolutely and wonderfully nuanced in their villainous roles. Everyone did a terrific job. And every minute watching it is well spent.
Thank you Lawless Lawyer team - the director (Kim Jin Min), the scriptwriter (Yoon Hyun-ho), the cast, and everyone else behind the scene that brought so much joy to all who enjoyed it.
Sesang Eodiedo Eobneun Chakhan Namja (2012)
Amazing revenge story, executed beautifully
If tortured, broken, angsty characters finding redemption is your thing, look no further. Finely written, with multiple layers, beautifully executed, complex characters, fabulous acting, this drama is a must watch.
The writer, the director, the actors all deserve a bow.
It is a pity that dramas like this don't get the kind of recognition world over that they deserve just because they are from another culture - people are missing out becuase they don't want to deal with subtitles. Personally I would rather this not be dubbed ever, but watched listening to the beautiful Korean language and the original nuances of the delivery by the actors.
There are enough synopsis's out there if you search in Google. All I will add is that rarely does an anti hero have all the characterstics of coldness, calm and strength of character that Kang Maru does. And rarely do the female leads have such strong personalities. The naunced writing at every stage is a joy - e.g. (Spoiler alert) the female villain refuses to accept herself as a victim or any absolution, owning her choices, even when the anti hero apologises for his part in her path to evil. Beautiful in every frame.
thanks to the team who created this piece of work that gave me much joy.
Haideu, Jikil, Na (2015)
Slow, measured story of growth and development
Reading the relatively not so favourable reviews on other sites, I wasn't expecting much. However, I have found Hyun Bin's work quite reliable so I gave it a go. The first two episodes were slow going but I am really glad I managed to get beyond that. Ah the payoffs are sweet.
Wonderful characters, beautiful layered romance, amazing supporting actors and a thoughtful psychological drama. Loved it.
Life of the Party (2018)
Fantastic fable of middle age crisis handle well
I am really surprised at the low ratings and crappy reviews on this. Looking at the ratings, and reading the reviews I thought it would be terrible. Instead it's wonderful heart warming fable of a warm happy positive woman's journey to rediscover herself after life kicks her in the teeth. Yes it's probably unrealistic and unlikely (handsome 20something falling in love and truly appreciative of a middle age overweight beautiful woman, C'mon) but hey if one can suspend disbelief for 80 % of what Holllywood dishes out, why is this not acceptable. Loved it.
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Charming walk down the memory lane of women's rights
Mona Lisa Smile is set in Wellesley College in 1953. Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States, near Boston. Along with several other women's colleges in USA, it is among "the Seven Sisters" and have affiliations with the Ivy League men's colleges. It is famous for having produced a large number of notable alumnae such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Nora Ephron, Pamela Melroy, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Soong Mei-ling and Bing Xin.
Like a lot of other well-regarded movies about iconoclastic teacher changing lives in a school, (e.g. Dead Poet's society) this movie also focuses on the messages of thinking for oneself, breaking traditional barriers but in a female only environment, challenging some of the mores of the times.
Wellesley is portrayed as a school which teaches the traditional pathways to women, i.e. learning to be good wives and mothers and is almost a finishing school with classes in deportment, elocution, grooming and table setting. Since the students all come from well- established and highly well-connected families, the goal is to produce women who can be valuable assets as wives of powerful men. In this school, comes our protagonist: Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), from University of California, Berkeley; her free-spirited bohemian lifestyle, her sexual relationships with no plans for marriage are all in sharp contrast to the hallowed spirt of Wellesley.
The students dislike Katherine Watson, with her extremely different views on education and life. At an interesting session which juxtaposes Katherine's viewpoint against those of her students, her students are cockily knowledgeable about traditional art in her first class. Katherine responds to their challenge with a blast of modern edgy art that is full on and confrontational. Her teaching includes hands on activities such as uncrating of a new work by Jackson Pollock. Modern art is seen by the school as potentially risky and supportive of rebellion against the carefully constructed world that Wellesley supports; a world where more often than not rich families have marriage alliances at the cost of personal freedom and ideals.
Among the undergraduates is the strong-minded Betty (Kirsten Dunst), destined to marry a Harvard man. She writes editorials in the school paper fomenting rebellion against Watson insinuating that her teaching leads to promiscuity. Eventually, she marries and deals with infidelity and lack of respect in her marriage and slowly gains a sense of self in her journey. Other undergraduates have their own trajectory.
One of the most interesting moment's in the movie is when another undergraduate Joan (Julia Stiles) chooses marriage over studying at Yale. The confrontation between Katherine and Joan raises important questions; (Spoiler alert) Joan assures Katherine that she has deliberately chosen family over a career and Katherine looks disconcerted. It is a telling moment - is it still feminism when the choice to go the traditional pathway is deliberate and thoughtful?
The Mona Lisa Smile is an important movie for women of this generation, at the time when the gender pay gap, access to vital networks and issues like double jeopardy, bamboo and glass ceilings are vigorously being debated.
Sarangbi (2012)
A beautiful, heart wrenching tale of loss, love and what ifs
It's slow, and gentle. You need time to savour it. The older lead couple grow over the years; the younger ones go through painful angst. The male leads have done a fine job of conveying their journey as has the older female lead. I found the younger female lead has done a great job but it was harder to invest in the character. She seemed lack in pride but it could be just the nature of extreme youth.
The scenes from other parts of Korea was nice to see as well as most K Dramas tend to focus on Seoul and that too a rather plastic version at times.
Worth your time if you are able to invest in the slow pace
I Hate Luv Storys (2010)
Cute and adorable
Perfect chick flick; sweet, cliched and a romance novel come to life.
Tu Hai Mera Sunday (2016)
Lazy sundays to savour
An enchanting movie about the lives of 5 men who all look for some peace and quiet on sundays, away from their normal challenges. Slow paced and realistic
Action Replayy (2010)
Delightful retro over the top fun
Back to the future with an Indian twist
Such a great fun movie; wonderful dialogues, great acting that always skirted the edge of hamming but never went over.
Highbrow intellectual folks who like deep meaningful cinema should avoid this but others can enjoy it to the hilt
Nan fang you qiao mu (2018)
Slow paced but beautifully structured
When I first started watching this, the slow pace put me off. I thought I wouldn't like it. However, if you like complex stories, interesting characters, really badass strong but silent female lead, noble idiot charming male lead, strong female villains, adorable sundry side characters, with lots of flashbacks then this one is for you. This has repeat value for me but requires patience to really appreciate the story. The pace is slow
Kudos to the whole team in putting this together, thank you !
Rishta.com (2010)
A delightful series on the human condition set in modern day India
What a delightful serial. Really worth one's time. Beautifully put together, interesting leads, individual stories with very unique human problems. The story is centred around a matrimonial agency but the pleasure one gets from the stories is that it's more than simply a match making service. It's includes little vignettes of the human frailties and challenges.
Maacher Jhol (2017)
Food and Bengalis !
I am writing this review because this deserves to be watched by foodies and those who are nostalgic about home and the connection that food brings for memories. This is a beautifully made movie and made my husband who is both a foodie and a bengali get teary eyed and nostalgic which is exactly what this movie aimed for. It sort of reminds of Jamie Oliver's statement - cooking is the highest form of giving. Whether you agree with it or not, it is definitely one of the most wonderful ways of connecting. The memory of sitting around food lovingly cooked that is connected with laughter and love - well there are few things that can beat that. If we did more of that, perhaps there would be less mental health problems around.
The lead actor was understated, and showed some fine acting. The story flowed at an even space. Beautifully shot, with a fine ensemble of characters, this is a movie that deserves a watch with a plate of your favourite well cooked home food to savour :)
Sangsogjadeul (2013)
Sweet, predictable and heart warming
So if you are watching a KDrama and expect it to be mind bending, without cliche's and tropes, you shouldn't be watching this. If you do like your KDramas, you should be used to tropes and clichés and enjoy the sheer beauty of watching old fashioned, sweet melodrama with familiar characters. Heirs is no different. Beautifully shot, with fantastic actors, a detailed story and characters, it is a satisfying drama that made me really enjoy my time getting to know their story. And yes, would love to see Choi Young Du get his own story!
Ek Hazarachi Note (2014)
A slice of reality in rural India
This film depicts the helplessness and tragedy of the poor in context of a corrupt, unfeeling system through a well enacted, crisply directed and edited movie. In the midst of this, there is an amazing humanity and fellow feeling to make the characters real.. and possible to relate to, even if you have never been in these situations.
The protagonist has excelled in depicting this absolutely heart warming person who seems to have taken life on the chin, and is surviving in extreme poverty with dignity and self - respect - in many ways, this is all she has. Her friend is a young man with whom she shares affection and care - again, a tip of my hat to the writer in creating such engaging characters. Scenes of making tea in a field or in a hovel have a warm intimacy due to the friendship these two characters share.
The direction and editing is really well done - there are hardly any superfluous moments and you never feel like any scene is dragged unnecessarily.
Worth a watch but the covert torture (I cannot think of any other suitable word) of the poor is hard to stomach.
Parichay (1972)
A gentle tale, of relationships
In a time of speed and instant gratification, you have these old gems which need you to cast aside your need for a climax every 10 minutes and just tag along for a ride, with a family that is in need of a relationship
A beautifully directed, scripted, edited, acted story, watching this made me truly appreciate not only Gulzar (for the hundredth time!) but also someone like Jeetandra who had the strength and the imagination to work in something like this. It is often that we forget that Jeetandra was an actor who is responsible for a huge number of realistic cinema when they were not called 'art movies'
A slow tale of orphaned children who feel lost and are destructive in their need to get attention or perhaps escape from the rigidity of an unfamiliar face, and the grief of losing their parents, the sweetness and gentleness of the stranger who comes in and sweeps them along on an adventure to discover their grandfather and the joy of it all.
If you want an evening of quiet joys, curl up with a drink, and watch, with patience and get engaged.
Flipped (2010)
Utterly delightful picture of small town, big hearted US
A gentle sweet nicely told story of two families, and two children growing up close. Juli is a sweet, kind and good-hearted, strong minded, clear cut girl. She has strong opinions and is a good person, but the kind of person you just don't want to cross. She has no grey and is merciless about truth and justice. Our boy hero is a normal boy, eager to have a comfortable life and will go with what was the easiest way to live, lie or adjust, or be quiet in the face of injustice - in short, he is like all of us. The other characters are equally fun to be around - they have all been etched beautifully, with the quiet goodness of Juli's parents with their struggles, genteel poverty due to the choices they have made. Watch it - it will remind you of a younger you, when life was yet to be made.
Daawat-e-Ishq (2014)
Definitely worth a watch
This movie starts beautifully, and draws you in. Wonderful heartfelt performances, soulful and energetic music that fits with the Hyderabadi / Lucknavi cultures - this movie had a lot going for it.
So what was missing? A heroine that one could root for, characters that were consistent. The father is an intelligent, poor, kind hearted typical Indian middle class soul who has spend decades walking the path of honesty and yet he suddenly flips and enthusiastically joins his daughter in her plan of crime because of an accident. This was not believable.
The heroine was obnoxious - a poster child for everything that is wrong with the so-called new feminism. She is ill mannered, rude to guests, downright unethical, selfish, bordering on psychopath, the way she steals money from the hero without any compunction. It is only when she goes down the path a while, that she feels any repentance, which is too little, too faint and too late.
And yet, just for the wonderful performance by all concerned, the beautiful direction, editing and cinematography, watch it. Movies like this should be supported - we have too little of these movies in the industry. Note to the team - next time, strengthen the script!
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015)
A definite watch
There are not too many movies out there from the Hindi film industry that has the elements of a great whodunit, great character sketches, and gorgeous historical locales. This movie is worth watching for that alone.
For a purist, accepting a Byomkesh who is lovelorn, callow and naive at some moments was hard. But if you forget the books, in which Byomkesh begins as this sophisticated, urbane, highly intelligent detective, then you are in for a treat. Having Byomkesh call the Japanese and the Chinese the same in the movie (to show his innocence in that age I presume) was a shocking scene again. The Byomkesh in the books would never ever make this mistake - it smacks of ignorance not innocence. In fact in any Bengali literature of the times this would not have happened.
Having said that, Banerjee has taken elements of the stories and weaved them into his own story and character and done this tastefully to create a wonderful image of the city that was the 2nd city in importance to the British Empire along with the innate Bengaliness (read: food, music and politics) that made for such an attractive medley of culture that is uniquely Kolkata.
Watch it, to support cinema of this kind, titillate your senses with the sights and the words of a bygone era, to understand historical forces so well captured on celluloid.
Bridesmaids (2011)
Waste of time
This was a truly awful movie, that I started watching at home, on a DVD, with my husband, and had to (and thank fully could) shut it down. I cannot remember the last time this has happened because I have, like a lot of people, a lot of respect for people's efforts in making a creative work. It was demeaning, sickening, insulting and negative in every way possible. My first reaction was do normal people really behave this way? It was only after I read the reviews that I realised that I was not being finicky or difficult. There are some excellent reviews on the movie that summarise all that is wrong with this movie, please read them and don't touch it with a barge pole if your humour does not include watching people make complete assess of themselves. This takes that approach to a whole new level.