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Joji Review

Joji Review – Joji is a Malayalam dark crime drama released in 2021. The story revolves around a family of brothers where everything seems to go fine from the outside but internally greed lurks around. How a simple amazon order triggers the chain of events that would bring out the worst in people is what Joji is all about. Joji is a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Joji is Dileesh Pothan’s third outing with Fahad Faasil after Maheshinte Prathikaram and Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum. One could notice the signature style of Dileesh Pothan’s world that captures the essence of reality as it is. This one may not be pleasing to anyone and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are people who dislike this movie.

Dileesh has taken time to introduce the characters and the surrounding of the story visually without explicit words. A courier delivery person riding through a small town and then through rubber plantations to reach Joji’s house, the empty dining table in a big house filled with members, each of them not looking into the eyes while talking, absence of any house help for a such a big wealthy family and many more such visuals tell you a lot about the family.

Fahaad’s performance as Joji is brilliant. He has lost a lot of weight for this character. He is the son that his muscular father is not very proud about. He treats him like a trash as he is just a boy in a blanket, for he feels solace is confining himself to his closed room (Joji’s palace) wrapped in a blanket. He tries hard to impress the family that he has a seat at the table by doing horse trading but none of them takes him seriously.

The only person in the house on whom he can exercise some control is the son of his eldest brother. The other person in the house, who treats him equally is his sister-in-law ( wife of his second brother ). When the father of the family meets with an unexpected accident that puts him in mortal danger, the dark side of the family turns up. It’s not just the family the film also brings out the selfish nature that is everywhere. His father’s friend asks the son to get the liquor bottle from his father’s case while his father is still unconscious. The priest is obsessed with the latest gadgets. The people spreading rumors around the mishap in a wealthy family,

The only sequence that happens outside of the estate is few shots at the hospital. Otherwise, the entire movie happens within the estate. For the most part of the movie, there is no background score but at key moments the symphony kicks in elevating the impact of the scene to a different level.

High Points: Direction of the movie, performance of Fahad Faasil, background score, visuals.

Low Points: Its a slow burner and is very dark. It may note suite the taste of general audience.

Overall Joji is an excellent film that stays very true to its genre. Once you get connected to the world, you would feel you have lived with the family for 90 odd minutes. If you love slow burner, crime dramas then don’t miss Joji.

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CHOIR GIRL REVIEW

CHOIR GIRL REVIEW – Choir Girl is a dark drama in English released in 2020. A photographer from lower economic strata becomes obsessed with a street prostitute in his neighborhood. Their unusual friendship unfolds into a gritty and gripping tale as they try to make a life for themselves.

This is a debut movie for director John Fraser. I didn’t get a feeling of watching a debutant’s movie. It was engaging right from the first scene till the end. The writing of the movie is brilliant in terms of character development and plot progress. In the first few minutes of the movie, you understand the plight of the two lead characters and their motive. The cramped room of the photographer versus the perfect symmetry of a high-class society which he is longing to get into is brilliantly framed. The scenes and expressions of the lead characters convey a lot beyond the dialogues.

The uniqueness of the plot comes in terms of the characters whose unusual friendship and obsession complicates the knot. The climax is very well made and it is something not easy to guess. The use of black and white makes it go well with the photographer’s tale and also builds more tension to the scene.

High Points: The lead character development, uniqueness in the plot, cinematography, background score, and the climax

Low Points: This movie has a strong appeal to the lovers of dark and gritty drama. It may not appeal to the folks who do not love dark gritty drama.

Overall, I had the same feeling of watching Following directed by Nolan after watching Choir Girl. I am looking forward to the future works of John Fraser. This is a must-watch if you love dark thrillers.

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Asuran Review

Asuran Review – Asuran is a Tamil crime thriller released in 2019. When powerful landlords in the village, try to overpower the poor farmers to take over the land, the family of Sivasami doesn’t budge and the following events turn into an endless revenge saga between families.

I always wish that Indian directors make movies on already written material than trying to create material on their own every time. Director Vetrimaaran has taken a step if followed by other fellow directors in this country could change the landscape of Indian Cinema in a positive way. Kudos to him for making a movie based on a novel Vekkai by Poomani. This makes the content very rich, characterization very deep-rooted and overall movie a very engaging one.

I haven’t read the novel so I may not be able to comment on how much true to the book the movie has been. My analysis is mostly on the structure of the movie. The structure of the screenplay is much akin to the structure of the cult classic commercial movie Baasha. Due to the rural treatment and the message in the movie, it also resembles Devar Magan in many ways. An innocent protagonist, who doesn’t raise voice against atrocities has a dark past in which he is akin to a menacing Villain, the secret breaks right at the interval block and then dwells into the past to establish the gory side of the protagonist, coming back to the present to close the proceedings. While many directors have tried to emulate the success of these movies have miserably failed, Vetrimaaran banked on the content which eventually created a successful product.

I was very intrigued by the fact of the choice of the name Asuran. In Hindu mythology, the Asuras were always looked down upon by the Devas and were constantly at war between each other. Devas also made peace with Asuras whenever they needed some work to be done with them like in the case of churning the ocean to create Amruth. In the movie too, the landlord keeps a good pact with Dhanush till he is preparing liquor that helps his business grow. It is only later he realizes where his real place is and things change. Even the scenes involving the insult of the upper cast before women, the insult he takes for her laughing and the way he avenges for it are all in correlation to the Deva and Asura wars. In that way, it is a befitting the title.

The characters are sketched well. Although Dhanush becomes of prime importance in the second half, other characters still have a convincing life cycle. It is nice to see Pasupathi and Prakash Raj on screen after a while. The choice of Manu Warrier to play Dhanush wife as well is a great choice. She has a lot more scope in the first half of the movie.

The locations in which the movie is shot adds a more convincing tone to the whole narration. In particular, the forest sequences are taken very well. The background score is the soul of the movie and GV Prakash has done a phenomenal job in scoring the BGM.

High Points – Strong content, Interval Block, background score, depth of characters, visuals of the forest sequence, action blocks, raw treatment

Low Points – Too much violence might not appeal to everyone.

Overall Asuran is a very well made commercial crime thriller. It has all the ingredients that would keep you glued to the chair until the end and leave you with a powerful message. It is now available in Amazon Prime.

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Joker Review

Joker Review – Joker is an American psychological thriller released in 2019. The movie is based on the famous DC Villain Joker and traces his origin story.

After the rave reviews, the movie has been receiving, I had finally watched Joker on the IMAX screen. It is a movie that breaks the fourth wall of sorts where it requires the involvement of the audience to interpret and make sense of the proceedings. It leaves you with a lot of emotions about what you have witnessed. It sort of symbolizes the rise of a dystopian society that Gotham had become later as you would have watched in Batman movies.

The movies opening scene paints the picture of the city that it is becoming. Arthur is putting on his clown make up, metaphorically putting on a happy face when the city is gone to the rats as it is conveyed by the newsreaders in the news channel. Rise of rats indicates the rise in the homeless people in the city living in makeshift shelters leading to the rise of rodent menace. The government is trying to control the rodents rather than addressing the source of the problem. There is a joke that gets aired in the Murray Franklin show on TV calling the rodents as super rats and the solution is to fight them with super cats. A sarcastic take on the tryst between Super-Villains and Super-Heroes is brilliantly weaved into the story.

The economic divide in the city has become so huge that the quality of life of the jobless people is in a very pathetic state. Arthur is just a representative of them where he craves an identity by fantasizing himself to be a successful standup comedian. Post the dramatic turn of events ( not revealing them here to avoid spoilers ), the prospective candidate for the Mayor, Thomas Wayne calls them clowns by accidentally giving them an identity that unites them.

The rest of the movie is about how Arthur’s life takes a turn with the turn of the events and what he becomes eventually. The climax is very open-ended letting you reflect and create your own version of the story.

Joaquin Phoenix is literally in every frame of the film and has delivered a very commendable performance. The hysterical laugh convinces you of a man who has a condition of mental illness. Director Todd Philips has given a movie that is much beyond the movie made out of comic. Joker can be an independent movie that has a lot to convey without having the link to the comic.

High Points: Performance of Joaquin Phoenix, the open-ended climax that leaves room for interpretations, the soundtrack from Frank Sinatra classics, the gripping dark screenplay.

Low Points: The film is dark, gritty and bold which may not appeal to the taste of folks who do not like it.

Overall, Joker is here to stay as a cult movie for very long and is arguably one of the best performances of Joaquin Phoenix yet. Joker is not just an origin story of Super-Villain but a movie that paints the side effects of the inequalities in society.

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Parasite Review

Parasite Review – Parasite is a South Korean black comedy movie released in 2019. The movie explores the significant divide in a society based on the socio-economic background through the two families at extreme ends of financial status.

Director Bong Joon-Ho has attained legendary status and like all his previous movies this one too left me with an awe for the number of layers this simple black comedy had and its reflection on the subject it deals with. Every frame has been thoughtfully constructed to create a visual representation of the core theme of the movie. As Kim’s son always say it is metaphorical.

  1. The long staircase Kim’s family takes down to reach their house when they return from the house of the Park family.
  2. A house that doesn’t let visitors walk inside the gate without permission to the sub-basement makeshift house where people pee outside the window without any remorse.
  3. A family thanking the rains for it has made the city greener to the family that had to spend a night at the gym among hundreds of people as their house got flooded with shit due to the rains.

As the movie begins at the poor man’s dwelling in a sub-basement, with the family discussing the wifi connection which they were connecting to now has a password, you tend to think the family living in the basements are parasites metaphorically. And as they all get placed in various jobs at Park’s house this feeling is more cemented. Here is the genius of Bong Joon Ho where he makes you feel a certain way and leaves you guilty for the thought process as the movie progresses and you are truly confused about who or what the real parasites are. The same treatment I had very much enjoyed in his movies Memories of Murder and Mother.

Song Kang-Ho yet again delivers a stellar performance. He can just transform into any role just like that. The treatment of the script through comedy just falls in his comfort zone and he delivers it with ease. All the characters in the movie are well written and their character arc as the movie progresses is beautifully constructed.

High Points: Brilliant screenplay and narration. The metaphorical construction of the scene that goes well with the theme of the movie. Performance of the actors.

Low Points: Hardly any low points for this movie

Overall Parasite is yet another legendary work by Bong Joon-Ho. It grows on you through powerful visual storytelling and some brilliant screenwriting. If you get a chance to watch this in any film festivals don’t miss it.

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Super Deluxe Review

Super Deluxe Review – Super Deluxe is a Tamil neo-noir film released in 2019. The story follows the lives of 3 different set of people dealing with different taboos in life and how each of their life influences the outcome of the other.

It is almost impossible to write a review of Super Deluxe without giving away the plot. So if you haven’t watched the movie, do watch it before you continue reading this review.

There are movies that you walk into the theater with a different expectation in mind and the movie is not even a bit of what you had expected it to be. But later as you sink it in you understand the depth of the plot, the construct, the dialogues and all of a sudden everything falls so perfectly in place that you would want to yell “Wow! What a brilliant movie”. The phrase from the song from Delhi Belly “I hate you like I love you” fits in so perfect for the movie.

If you walk in expecting an Aaranya Kaandam you would be largely disappointed. Rather if you let Super Deluxe be it what it is supposed to be then you would appreciate the nuances and the beauty of the neo-noir film. There are actually 4 different threads of the plot that is intelligently arranged in so that it becomes a compelling tale.

You might feel why are you watching it as you start watching it for it is going to make you uncomfortable by breaking all the rules. As you watch it till the end it leaves a great after taste that you can savor for long.

Through the 4 different tales, director Thiagarajan Kumararaja questions the very sense of right or wrong, good or evil. Just like how the day merges into the night and the night into the day, good merges with evil and the vice versa. Time can alter how things are perceived. He questions the existence of God in a statue, while he is making the curse of a Eunuch become true. A girl having an extramarital affair doesn’t mean that she is characterless. Porn stars are there to perform as the market for porn is out there. Who is to be blamed? He even teases the whole plot by getting in an Alien. As you just begin thinking what an absurdity, the alien questions your very thought process by telling, “Why do you think Aliens would just come to America?”. The climax though a bit preachy but a brilliant one as you see the gem of the advice coming in through the narrator in the porn movie who explains the meaning of life and everything. He teases the audience there too, by telling you might just end up thinking of this as a porn movie and miss the essence of it.

High Points: The performances of Vijay Sethupathi, Samantha, Fahad Fasil and the kid Ashwath. The plot and the questions around stereotype that is embedded in the plot. The quirky dialogues in the movie. The Climax, the Cinematography.

Low Points: The length of the movie and the complex plot would have been a let down for many. But if you love the movie you will feel it justified.

Overall, Super Deluxe is a movie that beats the logic of the predictable formula in movies. You might have seen such brilliant non-linear work with Tarantino, Frank Miller, and Guy Ritchie. Thiagarajan Kumararaja does it for a Tamil movie that is going to yet again become a cult hit like his first outing.

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Avengers: Endgame Review

Avengers: Endgame Review – Avengers Endgame is an American superhero fantasy movie released in 2019. This is the last installment of the Avengers saga which began with Iron Man in 2008. After the disastrous events at the end of the infinity war, the Avengers who are alive come up with a plan to take on Thanos.

The end of a saga often becomes a formality of sorts and struggles hard to beat the expectations. How did Avengers Endgame fair? Well the kind of appetite that was generated by Avengers Infinity war, it is always going to be difficult. The endgame is successful in parts but leaves you longing for more action through the most part.

After the emotional turn of events at the end of the infinity war, the humorous events that happen as the Avengers set out on their task did not sit well with the whole theme of the movie. But for the part of Captain America, others did seem too draggy until the beginning of the second half which sets up for the final battle.

The final battle makes up for all the slowness and makes the watch total worth for the money. A big kudos to Marvel for creating a very connected story line since the first Iron Man in 2008.

High Points: The sequences involving Captain America, The character build-up of Thanos, Performance on Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, The final battle sequence

Low Points: The dragging first half of the movie. Humor that doesn’t gel well with the flow.

Overall Endgame is a fitting farewell for the Avengers Saga, that would keep you longing for more. It makes a must watch in theaters for the relevance it has with the whole franchise. Although it doesn’t match up to the Infinity war, this one will not disappoint you at the end. IMAX 3D version provides the best viewing experience.

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Tel Aviv On Fire Review

Tel Aviv On Fire Review – Tel Aviv On Fire is an Arabic comedy-drama released in 2018. Salam is a Palestinian living in Jerusalem. He is working on a Soap opera as a scriptwriter. He gets his plot ideas from the commander at the check post he passes through. As the show becomes popular, the commander wants the climax to be changed the way he wants.

Director Sameh Zoabi has crafted a witty screenplay at the backdrop of a socially tense situation. The movie is hilarious right from the first shot. The scenes shift from the soap opera to the real life effortlessly. The brilliance in the screenplay makes you interested in progress of both the tales the real story as well as the story of the soap opera.

Kai’s Nashif is very convincing as Salam. His performance is witty and enjoyable. The inspiration he looks for writing the script is quite hilarious and later we see that it has a stronger connection to his life too. Yaniv Bitton steals the show as the commander at the check post. His asks are unexpected and helps in bringing some surprises in the plot.

High Points – The comedy in the script, the background score elevates the scenes, the interwoven plots of soap opera and the real life, ending of the movie is very entertaining

Low Points – Folks who do not like this kind of comedy may not enjoy the movie.

Overall, Tel Aviv On Fire is an entertaining drama, that has a very satirical take on the Soap Operas and also brings the funnier side of people although separated by political system to the forefront.

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The Bra Review

The Bra Review – The Bra is a silent comedy-drama that is shot in Azerbaijan. Train driver Nurlan on his retirement day finds that his train has snagged a blue bra from the neighborhood. He sets on a journey to return the bra to the owner.

They say silence is golden. And it aptly fits the movie for if they have added dialgoues it would have lost its beauty and lost into either a cliched tale or become a gross comedy. People hesitate to speak about the undergarments as they are personal. So making it silent fits well with the plot.

As the movie starts we get to witness the beautiful landscape of Baku in Azerbaijan. The picturesque view of the mountains is equally matched with the sweet characters that are portrayed in the congested township through which the train travels. The boy at the tea shop who warns people every day of the train arriving steals our hearts instantly. Nurlan’s character is well established too as every day he goes back to the township to return the things that were snagged by the train. So it doesn’t come as a surprise when he sets out to return the bra that has been snagged by the train during his last ride.

The entire episode is a laughter riot as he adopts various techniques to return the bra to the owner. His obsession to find the right owner makes the tale very interesting one. The kid at the tea shop joins him in the quest and they make a great team. His efforts lead to unpredictable circumstances and how he eventually finds the owner when all odds are against him forms the rest of the story.

“Miki” Manojlović as Nurlan brings life to the character with his performance. His expressions speak a lot and you don’t feel the need for a language. Director Veit Helmer has dealt with the screenplay very well. The treatment of the movie is so artistic in nature that you don’t feel there are any obscene moments in the film. The cinematography and sound editing is amazing and adds additional charm to the visual. The scene in which Nurlans co-worker practices his musical instrument with running engine sounds is well made.

High Points – The movie being a silent is a high point, the visuals of Baku are breathtaking, performance of  “Miki” Manojlović and the little boy, enjoyable comedy

Low Points – Hardly any low point for this one

Overall, The Bra is a movie for every cinephile. Board this train that takes you through picturesque landscapes and let’s you meet those beautiful people. You will walk out of the screen with a big smile on your face.

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The Guilty Review

The Guilty Review – The Guilty is a Danish thriller released in 2018. Holm, a police officer is assigned to a desk duty while he is being under a disciplinary review. One night he attends to an emergency call from a woman in distress who is being abducted. What happens to be a boring last night of the desk job turns into a long night of desperation and fast-paced action to get her back safely.

I got to watch this movie at 11th Bengaluru International Film Festival http://biffes.in opening night. The movie starts with an extreme closeup shot of a headset and we see Holms attending a distress call. In the next few minutes, we are introduced to the typical life inside a police emergency call room. And very soon you realize you are going to experience the whole movie like that of a cop sitting on a desk and managing things. As you start to wonder if the next eighty minutes will it be interesting, your mind wanders as the call comes in and builds up the visuals as it recreates the scenes from the sound through the headset.

Director Gustav Möller has teased the brain cells into building the images that are as compelling as real scenes. The brilliant sound engineering playing through the Atmos speakers, aids the mind in building some great visuals. How much you would like this movie would depend on how best your mind can build the scenes.

Although the entire movie is on the desk of Holm, you are always on the edge of the seat in the thrilling ride. The director and screenwriters have woven in additional layers of Holm’s personal life crisis into the whole episode which increases the grittiness of the episode and makes you emotionally connect with it. Actor Jakob Cedergren has given a very compelling performance. His expressions on the extreme closeup shots, increases the grittiness of the tale.

High Points – Very gripping screenplay, short duration of the film, brilliant sound engineering, Actor Jakob Cedergren’s splendid performance

Low Points – If you struggle with imagining the visuals then you might find yourself disconnected.

As you walk out of the hall you have a full fledged action thriller. If you love thrillers, this one is a must watch

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Petta Review

Petta Review – Petta is a Tamil action drama released in 2019. Kaali an elderly man joins as a temporary hostel warden in an arts college. There seems to be a hidden agenda behind his move which forms the core plot of Petta.

Petta, a fanboy film of Rajnikanth works its magic in bringing back many nostalgic memories of Rajnikanth movies in terms of shots, action blocks and situations. One big thing that it misses out is on the emotional connection to the character played by Rajnikanth on screen. Barring that it is an out and out entertainer. Like as in flashback sequences for Shankar, twists have become the regular feature in director Karthik Subburaj’s films. Personally, for me, the twists haven’t worked while it seems to have worked with many audiences. The twist of the tale in Jigarthanda and Pizza too did not work for me.

Petta’s first half is a wholesome entertainer, it has comedy, love, action sequences, songs, Thalaivar Swag all making it very enjoyable. The second half narrates an entirely a different story on a different canvas, that almost makes the first half irrelevant to the whole plot. The high orchestration builds up music is generously used in the second half BGM that might have worked well for the first day first show crowd but becomes cloying and making the climax appear to be elongated one. As it has been touted to be the second Baasha of sorts, I can’t resist doing a comparison to the old cult classic which again portrayed a dark side of Rajnikanth. But the first half characters lead back into the flashback as well and when the story connects back all of them are still relevant. That made you connect with the purpose of the lead character. That missed in Petta.

Besides the flaws, Petta is still a well made Tamil film that has many brilliant portions that would make you watch it again. First and foremost is the villaneous avatar of Rajnikanth and he plays it with so much ease and brings a terror on the screen as he gets involved in fights. It was refreshing to see Simran on screen after a long time. You just wished she had more screen time. Nawazuddin is the ideal choice for the Villain, the role is tailor made for him and he plays it to perfection. If you remove the fan flair of Petta, there is a raw gangster tale beneath it, that seems to be a very powerful one and left unexploited for the want of a breezy first half.

High Points: Rajni’s presence, the interval block, entertaining first half, the market fight scene, a Flashback sequence, inclusion of Simran

Low Points: Overuse of the build-up BGM, Twist after twist just for the sake of it

Overall, Petta is a true fanboy flick that captures all fanboy moments in a Rajni film. Lack of emotional connection to the main character makes it fall short of being a milestone movie. Yet there is lots to look for in Petta.

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Andhadhun Review

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Andhadhun Review – Andhadhun is an Indian crime thriller released in 2018. Aakash a pianist who pretends to be blind witnesses the murder of a famous film star, what unfolds next is the plot of Andhadhun.

Director Sriram Raghavan has sketched yet another gripping dark tale with suspense weaved in, that makes it an interesting watch. The story starts with the narration of the protagonist about the events that had happened in the past. Sriram has teased with the usual twists in a typical thriller much ahead in the movie giving you the sense of wondering is what is left. As you begin to wonder what would be left, the movie takes unexpected turns and goes deep down a rabbit hole of complex knots, that makes it more interesting. Ayushman Khuranna and Tabu play a pivotal role in the movie. Tabu has played a badass character with so much ease. The entire sequence at the house of Ayushman Khuranna is one of the brilliantly scripted scenes in the movie. The script reveals the truth at the right moments of time leading to a very engaging climax.

The movie opens with thanking Chitra Geet and Chitra Haar for entertaining us for a long time and ends with the great piano sequences from yesteryear bollywood movie. The music from Amit Trivedi stays up in the game and forms the soul of the movie.

High Points: The script is the strength of the movie, the performances of Tabu and Ayushman Khurana stand out very well, the art design of the locations add to the aesthetic flair of the movie. The background score and songs of Amit Trivedi lightens up even a dull scene.

Low Points: The only weak point of the script is Radhika Apte’s character. It is too shallow and forms too irrelevant for the plot to move forward. 

Overall Andhadhun is a very gripping dark crime thriller that would entertain you. It may not be the movie of epic scale but still would join the list of well written and made dark crime thrillers in Bollywood. This is now available on Netflix.

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