War

 

Looking into the story of a special ops leader who goes rogue and is killing some higher-ups within the Indian Army. His right-   hand man now has to catch his former commander and teacher, who is now the enemy of Indian Forces. The storyline closely relates to the American movie, War, to the exception of a few plot twists that had me clutching to my seat. War made by director Siddarth Anand was filled with many new and different frame and angle shots not seen in many Hindi films. It was very refreshing to witness a storyline that was not filled with musical numbers and not heavy on romance as well. Instead, you see a relationship between men and their country. My only critiques were with a few shots that were too long for the scene and too fast of a technique for what they were going for. Specifically talking scenes that were way too drawn out for a dramatic effect. The fighting scenes were really good along with the camera shots used that further made this duo very exciting to see working together. Both Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan came from lead roles from various past action movies but all pale in comparison to the action sequences and plot twists in this movie. War was a pillar that hopefully leads other directors in the Bollywood industry to explore other avenues when it comes to storytelling and cinematography.  

 

Cinematography: 9/10

Graphics: 7/10

Special effects: 8/10

Music track: 5/10

Plot: 10/10

Writing: 8/10

Acting: 8/10

Written October 21, 2019

Men In Black: International 

 

 

The movie was a good attempt in bringing in a woman in the male filled roles that the original had. The gender centric role in the title, Men in Black, was questioned a few times with Agent O (Emma Thompson) and later with Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) when he mentioned it to be “The Men and Women in Black”. There was a lot of growth for MIB 4 to be an amazing movie, especially with cast members such as Liam Neeson as High T, Tessa Thompson as Agent M, and Chris Hemsworth. Unfortunately, the storyline and scriptwriting were dragging. It seemed like there were factors and relationships introduced in the movie that were not dug in enough, such as Riza’s past with Agent H, Agent M and the first alien she encountered as a child, as her partners were being questioned, then neuralized by MIB agents. I wish I knew more about what “The Hive” was as well. It was not talked about enough because it seemed like the movie was very scattered in its focus when it came to Agent M fitting in her new role, Agent H’s own issues, the MIB mole, and the Hive. I did like the reference of Will Smith as Agent J and Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K  fighting a hive which was painted and hung up in High T’s office. I was also confused at the relationship Agent M and H had, I did not know whether it was friendship or a possible romantic one. Their duo as partners didn’t really hit it together and the comedic aspect was very poor in the very least. The director, F. Gary Gray mostly is mostly known for a few movies such as The Italian Job and Friday, did not do justice to this movie that could have been great especially with a female lead and great actors in his disposal. The action shots were average, nothing new aside from what I mentioned above was brought in. Disappointed but glad to see a female lead actress, very refreshing and forward-moving towards seeing more female roles leading in the scene as well as behind the scenes. I would recommend watching but would not go in with high expectations.

 

P.S: Give Frank the Pug more scenes! 

 

Cinematography: 8/10

Graphics: 9/10

Special effects: 8/10

Music track: 4/10

Plot: 4/10

Writing: 3/10

Acting: 9/10

 

Written June 25, 2019 

 

Greta

 

A movie packed with many intense, ill-feeling, gut-wrenching moments, Greta spikes up a multitude of fears. The movie doesn’t take long to get the action going in. I would say director Neil Jordan did a good job of introducing the characters and establishing their roles, for the most part. The character that needed more development, as small as that role was, was Alexa, the girlfriend of Greta’s daughter. In her story, she says it’s been about 4 years since her girlfriends passing but there seemed to be no connection between her knowing her girlfriends' past with her mother Greta. Aside from mentioning the box, Alexa seemed to be more shaken up than Frances McMullen, who was actually being harassed constantly by Greta. Alexa didn’t seem to ask or want to know the reasoning as to why Frances was in connection with Greta. The director should have added that layer of information that could have further propelled the mystery behind Greta and her past a notch. The second character issue I had was with Frances herself! Neil Jordan portrayed Frances to be a girl from Boston, but her character seemed to be from a girl who lived all her life in a small suburban town. We all know Boston is a city! Not so different from NYC itself, in the sense of knowing simple precautionary things like (you don’t go to a stranger’s house when there is a department within the MTA that’s sole job is to return items to their owners!) And I know that it was closed when she passed it but come on- she could’ve have returned. But I understand that she needed to go to her house for there to even be a movie, but the character of Frances shouldn’t have been so dense in terms of simple city rules (the New Yorker in me was cringing most of the time in the movie). Another point I want to bring on was Frances’ dad. I saw the need for him being in the movie to reveal some layers of France’s character of being deeply hurt by her mother’s death and him giving Frances a surprise visit after shortly finding out that she was not on vacation with her best friend Erica. However, there should have been more lines to reveal more about the dynamic existing between Frances and her mother’s death. It was needed just so the idea of France’s feeling deeply lonely without a mother figure could have been further sold. On the positive, the movie impacted fears that left one message; Don’t return an item you find lost anywhere to the owners home and don’t especially go into their homes and give them your number and promise them to stick with them (Bubble gum reference) on the first, second, or 8th meeting so you won’t be kidnapped and killed by a psycho that was always a psycho but you happened to find out because you played into their own hands. I will give it to France’s though in the way she handled it in terms of calling the cops and being on high alert and further instilling the fear that Greta was technically not breaking any laws in a “public space”. 

I will leave you with an amazing line from the movie: 

 

“This wine is similar to you, full of promises in the beginning but disappointing in the end.” -Greta 

 

Cinematography: 9/10

Graphics: 7/10

Special effects: N/A

Music track: 5/10

Plot: 6/10

Writing: 5/10

Acting: 7/10

 

Written March 3, 2019 

 

Alita: Battle Angel  

 

Spoiler Alert!!

Deriving from its original Japanese name, Gunnm or literally “gun dream”, Battle Angel Alita was a movie many fans of the manga were trying to watch with its release in theaters February 14, 2019.  With an average audience score on Rotten Tomatoes of 4.6/5, it seems Alita was liked by most. The critics, on the other hand, were not big fans of Alita with an average rating of 6/10. Many mainly thought of its plot to be empty with Alita being the only interesting character and some entertaining sequences, let’s not even talk about the ending of the film which was a clear depiction of their being a possible sequel to this. Let’s first look at the backstory and sources that were used to make the movie and see how true director, Robert Rodriguez, was to the original sources; the manga and the anime. Alita’s or Yoko’s (Japanese name) past is hardly touched on the anime but it is mostly revealed in the manga. Personality-wise, the movie is close in sync with the anime aside from age difference whereas in the anime Alita is much more youthful and naive. One of the biggest differences between the anime and the movie is that Nova is not in the anime (just yet). However, in the manga, Nova is mentioned and said to be a dubious scientist who specializes in nanotechnology and conducts numerous inhumane experiments. In part, the movie was true to the manga by revealing Alita’s dubious past. Personality-wise, the movie was once again true to the manga being close in age with the character. The movie did introduce Nova, just like the manga and hinted in his inhumane experiments by the last scene of Vector showing Alita the human parts of Chiren, the doctor who was working alongside Vector for the entire movie.  I thought the darkest part of the movie was when Vector immediately after mentioned that people did go up to Zalem, but in body parts. All in all, Robert Rodriguez did a good job in tying together the movie with mostly the manga. I thought there were no layers for Hugo, Alita’s boyfriend, aside from the fact that he stole nanotech from the cyborgs and pushed Alita to rebel against Dr. Dyson Ido. It was painfully obvious what his role was, the romance was not needed because it added an extra layer that the movie simply didn’t need in terms of the overall direction it was heading towards to and the time restriction. Although Hugo or Yugo (Japanese name), was in the manga and a romance did exist there were layers that did not involve Alita and made in turn their romance matter. Nurse Gerhad had barely any lines in the movie! I felt she was just a shadow beside Dr. Dyson Ido the entire time because there was no relationship that existed between her and any of the characters. It was very derailing and distracting to see her just stand there most of the time while there was a deep conversation going on between the doctor and Alita. There should have been more lines dedicated to her to establish her role in the movie. I am curious to see how the sequel will turn out seeing that Alita is shown to carry wrath behind her eyes. 

In part, I will recommend for someone to watch because the movie did deliver in technique when it came to the motion graphics and numerous elements I will rate below.

 

Cinematography: 9/10

Graphics: 10/10

Special effects: 10/10

Music track: 7/10

Plot: 7/10

Writing: 6/10

Acting: 9/10

 

Written February 20, 2019 

 

Bird Box

 

Netflix recently released Bird Box on December 13, 2018 in the U.S. The movie has a lot of known faces, including Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich, and Jacki Weaver. It is based on a novel that was published back in 2014. Although its genres include horror and thriller inspired by a doomsday style film, the movie did not hold true to the horror aspect. The story as a whole was lackluster due in part of what seemed to be a stretch of time where the characters were just isolated in the house. Although (spoiler alert!) they had to face their own challenges, being trapped with two pregnant women in the house and being introduced to new characters that would be let into the house, there was not much else going on for a big chunk of the movie until the last 30 minutes or so. I did like how there were transitions of past to present and the movie desperately needed it because if it was stuck to just the present there would not be enough content.  I appreciated the diversity they added to the movie, it was especially refreshing to see the acting of Trevante Rhodes who played Tom, Malorie’s love interest. The movie overall was a thriller if anything, there was not enough or even horror at all involved. The attempt of horror was made by bringing (spoiler alert!) Tom Hollander who plays Gary, a deranged escapee of the mental institution who ends up killing almost everyone except the main characters, Malorie and Tom, who managed to escape, was a miss. The suspense was there especially with the cinematography by Salvatory Totino and the composers, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who elevated the movie by many degrees. Director Susanne Bier did a great job in creating elements that were heart-felt when it came to the relationships that existed between the characters (e.g Malorie and her sister as well as Malorie and Olympia, the mother of the “girl”). However, it may seem to be compared and said to be a rip off of A Quiet Place, a drama and thriller film directed by lead actor John Krasinski, the novel Bird Box was written before the movie came out. Bird Box was a bit fo a disappointment because it ended with a lot of unfinished questions and a dissatisfying and repeated end (reminded me of the Walking Dead) when it comes to finding a safe haven. It was even more of a let down because although it was marketed in part as a horror film the attempts were poor and it instead was a suspense/thriller. I will recommend it to someone who wants to pass the time. 

 

Cinematography: 9/10

Graphics: n/a 

Special Effects: n/a

Music Track: 8/10

Plot: 6/10

Writing: 7/10

Acting: 9/10

 

Written January 01, 2019

 

Aquaman 

 

We all already know how viewers in general felt about the disappointing and predictable plot of Justice League and Batman vs. Superman Dawn of Justice . When Aquaman came into the mist and was being rumored to be into the works by DC Comics a lot of us were excited to see the movie that would bring back DC Comics mojo back. Let’s start with the basics, Aquaman was directed by James Wan whose had a long track of horror films such as his most recent The Nun but commonly known for the series Saw. It left me to question the decision of producers Rob Cowan and Peter Safran into letting someone with what appears to be little history in movies other than horror (aside from Furious 7) taking charge of Aquaman. Although, I can understand partly DC wanting to change directions because of Zack Snyders latest let down for many fans. The film as a whole to me was predictable and the writing at times was lazy when it came to Amber Heard’s character Mera and her interaction with Jason Momoa who played Arthur. However, the graphics, cinematography, special effects, and music track was on point. With a budget estimate of 160 million I could see where the money was put to good use.  Although, Aquaman pulled out the big guns when it came to visuals and sound, they shorted us on the writing and the predictability of the plot many of us have seen before in terms of the sequence. The action scenes were phenomenal but the human villain, Manta played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, seemed like he had little to no chance to stand against Arthur in the first place (spoiler alert!) even though he was given special weapons by King Orm played by Patrick Wilson. I did appreciate the shots Manta was given when he was (spoiler alert!) re-building the weapon into a costume straight out of the pages of the DC Comics. I was hoping to see Manta training with his armor or even before receiving his armor so we would be able to see the hatred and the threat Arthur was going to get. It would have left room for anticipation instead of throwing Manta right away to fight Arthur. If you have not seen it make sure to check out the trailer below first!

 

Cinematography: 9/10

Graphics: 10/10 

Special Effects: 10/10

Music Track: 9/10

Plot: 7/10

Writing: 5/10

Acting: 9/10

 

Written December 28, 2018

 

Zero

 

A film production by Red Chillies Entertainment directed by Aanand L. Rai starring Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma left many people with mixed feelings. Shah plays Bauua Singh a dwarf that grew up in a wealthy family. His arrogance is not to be missed let alone his  big imagination. He didn’t let his dwarfness limit his long-lived dream to meet his loved idol Babita Kumari played by Katrina Kaif. But fate happened to cross Aaifa Yusufzai Bhinder a famous speaker and researcher for (spoiler alert!) habitation on Mars to Bauua. She carries a disability that has her in a wheel chair and slight nervous disorder that caused shaking. The actress who played her, Anushka, did a consistent job through out by living through Aafia. (Side note: the actress had a wheel chair just the same in her home in order for her to navigate and live like Aaifa months before the shoot!). However, there were points were she did not uphold her act of her nervous disorder which became distracting to the plot. Bauua had this superpower of being able to move the stars however it was never really explained how he got the superpowers and how it related to everything going on. There was a small indication that led me to believe that when Bauua lost sight of himself he lost his superpower. It was too much of a small indication and should have been addressed more in order for it to connect to the overall plot. Bauua and Aafia's love  leads to a crescendo of hope and disappointment which is the precise reason why viewers are split in between the direction the movie took. Sridevi, Karisma Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kajol, Salman Khan and Deepika Padukone appeared for 5-10 minute of screen time. The graphics were very advanced for what Bollywood has produced yet far but Zero took it up a notch when it came to their special effects. The cinematography and the music track was above average. The musical number that elevated the movie was Meera Naam Tu because of the choreography and the effects being used. It was my favorite all through-out the movie especially because of their use of the color powder used for Indias long tradition of Holi. 

 

Cinematography: 8/10

Graphics: 9/10 

Special Effects: 8/10

Music Track: 7/10

Plot: 4/10

Writing: 5/10

Acting: 8/10

 

Written December 27, 2018

 

Crazy Rich Asians

 

Crazy Rich Asians brought a different and unique aspect to Hollywood that has never been seen before, the entire cast was Asian, and purposefully. Jon M. Chu, director of the romance movie that made $174 in the box office wanted the cast all to be Asian. With one of Hollywood’s biggest critiques by the public caused by many leading directors whitewashing characters of color over the years, Crazy Rich Asians was sought out by many upon its release back in August,15 2018. I saw it recently and just had to get my hands on the book the movie was based on. Kevin Kwan, writer of the trilogy Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems took it to a whole other level. Jon M. Chu did a spectacular job in taking the book and transforming it into a PG-13 movie open to a broader audience.He manages to throw hints that could only get answered in the book when it came to Su Yi, grandmother and holder of the biggest fortune in Singapore, and Astrid, favorite cousin of one of the main characters Nicholas Young. This drama will leave you entranced but most of all hungry for Asian cuisine!

 

Cinematography: 9/10

Graphics: n/a 

Special Effects: n/a

Music Track: 9/10

Plot: 9/10

Writing: 9/10

Acting: 9/10

 

Written December 21, 2018

 

Judwaa 2

 

Two brothers separated at birth by unfortunate events transpired by their father. Although they both lived on opposite sides of the world, fate will bring them together again. A comedic twist is ingrained into the movies core making it a light-hearted film that is a must see. The cinematography was ok, some mistakes where caught in terms of voice overs placements. The storyline continues its comedic thread when the brother who lives in India immigrates to London illegally and is chased throughout the movie by two idiotic cops that can never seem to catch him. 

Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and co-produced by Fox Star Studios under Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Production and directed by David Dhawan. 

 

Cinematography: 5/10

Graphics: n/a 

Special Effects: n/a

Music Track: 8/10

Plot: 6/10

Writing: 7/10

Acting: 8/10

 

Written November 23, 2018 

 

Jodha Akbar 

 

A story on historical events based on how the Munghal Emperor, Akbar, marrying a Hindu princess, Jodhaa, for political reasons. Little does he know that he would end up falling for her. People will question Akbar’s loyalty to the Muslim religion and his position as ruler of the Munghal Empire creating a bridge between his loyalties and what his heart wants. Rated 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, Jodha Akbar will take you into Munghal times and brief you into the hardships both the people and the Emperor had to face.  For a movie produced in 2008 the graphics and special effects were put into good use which fed into a rich story line that was laden with historical events. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. 

Produced by UTV Motion Pictures. 

Lead Actors: Aishwarya Rai playing Jodha and Hrithick Roshan playing Akbar. 

 

Cinematography: 8/10

Graphics: 7/10 

Special Effects: 7/10

Music Track: 9/10

Plot: 9/10

Writing: 8/10

Acting: 9/10

 

 Written November 01, 2018

 

 

Jab Tak Hai Jaan 

 

Jab Tak Hai Jaan or As long as I have Life is an Indian Romantic drama that will take you into a roller coasters of emotions. It involves the lives of Samar Anand, played by one of the biggest Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Meera Thapar,  played by gorgeous actress Katrina Kaif. Both fall in love but have to part their ways after a tragic event. They are forced to go to the past and open old wounds when Akira Rai becomes involved in the intricate web of their love. 

Some of my favorite tracks in the movie: 

Jiya Re by Neeti Mohan and Sofia Ashraf

Challa by Rabbi Shergill 

Jab Tak Hai Jaan was written and produced by Aditya Chopra under production company Yash Raj Films.

 

Cinematography: 7/10

Graphics: 7/10 

Special Effects: 7/10

Music Track: 8/10

Plot: 7/10

Writing: 6/10

Acting: 9/10

 

Written October 20, 2018

 

Badri Ki Dulhania

 

Badri Ki Dulhania or The Bride of Badrinath is an Indian Romantic comedy film. The film has a dark twist that would not be expected! However the overall execution of the film in terms of its cinematography, cast, settings, and content is orchestrated with brilliance. Directed by Shashank Khaitan and Produced by Karan Johar under Dharma Productions. Definitely recommend to watch! 

 

Cinematography: 8/10

Graphics: n/a

Special Effects: n/a

Music Track: 9/10

Plot: 6/10

Writing: 6/10

Acting: 8/10

 

Written October 05, 2018