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Reno-Rangan
Watching movies are like breathing air to me. I love World cinemas and I am keen to explore every industry, every corner of the earth. It is my adventure and mission. I would like to share my perspective to be a film fanatic for those aspire to be one that watch all kinds of movies without language (with subtitle) and country barrier. Particularly do not stick to your favourit genre and those best flicks recommended by others or the top rated films on the internet. I am not saying you to completely avoid them, but give your time to other flicks that chosen by yourself. Go for it, even those are rated below 5 out of 10, I'll tell you why in the below. There are 3 types of people related to the cinema, except the filmmakers. One, the critics who are deadly as virus; two, the film fanatics who are diehard movie fans; and three, the common people who listen to either of first two. Avoid critics as much as you can, they are usually the press and the media. I'm instructing you to avoid their reviews, even if they say the film is very good, not the news they cover for the movie's collections, trivia, goofs, production and release dates, awards and other latest information. Now there are online critics also exists in a wide range and don't get confused with film fanatics for critics. It is a thin difference like hunger and thirst, but outcomes are vastly different. Critics write reviews on a transparent paper under the blueprint of their law which helps them to apply. Just like a robot with no senses (feelings), especially they always hate emotional and digital 3D films. But movie fanatics are more a human who writes what they feel, that does not mean they won't bash the films they watch, but they won't attack like critics do, only if a film fanatic is a particular actor, genre, et cetera fan and that might be the reason to thrash. That is where he intrigued by selfishness and often becomes critics. I'm a film fanatic and in those cases I avoid reviewing the films I feel they are bad. So if you're the third one, I mean the common people, then you can watch the movie by yourself and decide, or ask your close buddies who got good ideas about the movies. Finally, you have to watch even the worst rated movies often to get balance between the good and bad. That is how you will come to know the different between good and bad. If you go for only the good ones, even the best films look gloomy, dull and boring. Because you don't know how a bad flick looks like. Similar to eating your favourite sweet. Consuming 1, 2, 3, 10, 20, 50, at some point you will feel awful and say enough is enough. You won't touch them for another 6 to 12 months. So my question to you the reading this one, do you want to be a film fanatic or a critic?
My blog: 🌍WorldCinemaAdventure.BlogSpot.com
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The other similar lists of mine. Desert world: www.imdb.com/list/ls066886785 Water world: www.imdb.com/list/ls076000435
2017: My film diary
Not what I saw in 2017 those released in the different years.
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Reviews
Madrasi Da by SA Aravind (2017)
What it would be like being a Madrasi!
I often watch stand-up comedies, following that I usually skip reviewing them. I don't know why, maybe because they look more a reality show than the cinematic products that I love. But recently I've changed my mind and did a few brief reviews. Probably this my first feature review. One of the reasons I am doing it was for I directly related to the title. No, I'm not a Madrasi nor any comedy material have something to do with me and my life, but a Tamil. Yes, if you are one too, then you would enjoy it more than anybody else, despite it is in English language. It is more like a Tanglish, just like 'Why This Kolaveri Di'
Some jokes can't be translated in other languages with the same meaning and words. So that's where the subtitle becomes useless. But at least, with a familiar of Tamil culture and tradition, one can have a decent time with it. Never heard before the name Aravind Subramanian. Seems he had done many shows as looking at his popularity, but this is the first time I'm seeing him. Thanks to digital world. He's really good at narrating stories with humorous. Like all the Stand-up comedies, this is too for the adults. There are many sexual related comedy plots, especially breaking cultural barrier ones.
-xX] Girls! No giggling in the class today. And boys! Hands up. [Xx-
The best thing about it is, you should be the 90s kid to ensure you enjoy it thoroughly. Some of the topics he referred has connections with how the life has been in the 90s and the early 00s. From family to the friends and relative, all the good and bad things that happened to Madrasis during grow up were told so funnily. From how to get a girlfriend to the long distance relationship and breakups, the troubles the youth had faced reveled. In some instance comparing lifestyle with foreign land. The topics were vast, easily one of the best an hour of your life that might remind your past/childhood too.
One of the things I liked was the sex topic. The sex education in India is still lagging behind. Many consider it a taboo. Even teachers struggling to teach their students. So when young parents or soon to be parents exposed to such comedy shows, they will break away from such religious trap. Besides, the name Madrasi was given by North Indians to almost entire South India. But in reality it is a misunderstood term. Want to know what real Madrasi looks like. I mean culturally and lifestyle, this show is a good way to learn. But most of it just for fun than to consider it a fact or believing in it. If you are a Tamil and an adult, then it is a must watch. For the rest of the Southern Indians, as well as North Indians, it'll do fine too. Viewers beyond that might struggle a bit to get, but still worth it.
8/10
Jasper Jones (2017)
A mystery surrounding a girl's death.
An Australia's murder mystery set in a small town. The film was based on the novel of the same name. Starred by the next generation Aussie actors like Levi Miller and Angourie Rice. But the film was not what I had expected. Just okayish. Not at first glance I liked it, because I thought it was a little out of common sense, even from the kid's perspective. I don't blame the entire film, but the opening. Too intentional and right away jumped into the suspense.
This is a children's film, the story of teenagers, and a mystery surrounding the death of a girl. After the unconvinced start, not even the end brought any consolation. Though it could have been for just me. That's what I felt. So according to me, only the mid parts held the film for me to look for something in the later. All it had was the wonder characters and the storyline. The rest of the film failed to stretch with the best developments. Definitely a good tale for literature, but for a film, to witness everything on the visuals, it needed more detail. Only if it had depth, I would have found it a better film.
The story that happened in the holiday week that comes between the Christmas and the New Year. In a fictional Aussie town called Corrigan, a young Charlie was approached by Jasper in the middle of the night. Later he comes to know Jasper's girlfriend has been murdered. Now they are set to find who did it and why bofore the athorities do! The following days are crucial for both of them as the whole town is terrified by the incident. When the time comes to the truth, the secrets were revealed just before the film's end.
-xX] You're just like her, your mother. You're peas in a pod, you two. [Xx-
There was a little distraction like the Vietnam war, racism. All the above, the character Jasper Jones seemed an imagination of Charlie. Because of his secret appearance, but that did not last long. Yet the murder mystery always stayed top of the film topic. When the end revealed everything, that reminded me the films of 60-70 years ago. The timeline for this film too was in the same period, precisely 1969. The locations were awesome, the cinematography should be appreciated.
I thought the Jeffrey was an under-used or unrequired character, until the cricket match scene that's dedicated to him. Following it, what happened to his family was a nice flow of the story. Charlie's family too, the issue of the parents, crisis is their marriage. As I said, the film had ingredient, but did not cook properly. The reviewers, the film critics comparing it to some of the classics like 'To Kill a Mockingbird' to 'Stand By Me'. But I would say, it is too late to come to get equal status of those films. It was just an above average, but if it came in the 80s or 90s, surely would have been a gem and changed the Australian filmdom.
Despite the film title, the story was narrated by Charlie, the one who developed an unexpected relation in the most extreme situation with Jasper Jones. Apart from one worst week of his life, he also finds his first love. A coming-of-age film, worth a watch, but no doubt that it should have better. Not sure if the majority would like it or dislike it, but it is once watchable film. Finally, it got nominated for the Australian Academy Awards for this year (2017) in six categories, sadly it had won nothing. I hope that should not be a reason for you to skip it!
6/10
Jungle (2017)
Jungle, is not a place for humans anymore as thousands of years ago!
A much better, in fact, one of the best biopic about the survival in the wilderness. It is an Australian film about a young Israeli named Yossi, who went for a trekking in the Bolivian jungle with three others, but had got lost and fought for survival. It's 1981, the rainy season is just a corner away, but the four went to find a lost Indian village. After everybody got separated, the remain story told from Yossi's perspective, how he faced the nature's challenges to keep alive and make safely to the human civilisation.
The film was very good compared to what the trailer and teaser hinted out. Radcliffe is getting better with his every new film. With performance like this, surely everybody would accept him in the coming days. So we could see him in big projects, in big roles. Good writing and direction, but it was based on the biographical book of the same name. The film was entirely shot in Australia, but you can witness the real South American atmosphere. Something what bothered me was, Yossi an ex army man, so this kind of survival skills is taught in the army camps, yet he was scared and struggle like a normal person. Overall, it is a good film to go for it.
8/10
Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017)
The fall and rise of Doug the thug.
Jay Barushel. This is the magic words for this film. This is his feature film directional debut and I would say he did an awesome job. Apart from that, his cameo was also so good. The first film was good. It was like I have never seen before. A sports film with a favour of WWE. I did not think it would get a sequel, but now I'm really happy they made one. This is just perfect as the first one.
In television and feature films, those who play brothers, sisters, never rise into the big stars. Sean William Scott quite found his own place. This film could become his identity in the future. I hope the third is on the way, and of course should be made by none other than Jay Barushel. The rest of the cast was well supported him in this. One of the good films of the year, and best among the sports theme.
With a new season on the roll, the Highlanders struggling after their new captain Doug, ruled out for the remains after he met with a serious injury. He was replaced in the team by the one who confronted him. Still the team is not producing the result the management wanted. On the other side, Doug is recovering and into the next level of his married life. With all the chaos around, his comeback to the team and rest of the story revealed in the third act.
I have seen many films what they have called comedy, but I never laughed even one time during my watch. This film actually made me laugh in many parts. There's not much sports cliche in it. Easy to predict it as a one-liner, but the events, the scenes were hard to guess. Well written, directed and performed. One of the best Canadian films of the year. Those who liked previous should watch it, otherwise still worth have a peek into it.
7/10
Lady Macbeth (2016)
There's no one to stand against her!
Based on the Russian novel of the same name. My first guess was it going to be a boring periodic drama. After knowing about the film plot, I anticipated a storyline just like 'Moliere', but what I saw was a dark and twisted tale. I was really surprised to see a film like this. Enjoyed it though. This is not a good film from the moral value aspect. But film is a film, sometimes it just depicts the real life, even it is a fictional, surely it would have had taken place without the world knowing it.
Katherine, aka Lady Macbeth, a newly married young woman, but that's not an ideal life any couples want to live. Discarded by her husband, she finds a secret lover among the staffs of the house to satisfy her sexual urges. As expected, it does not go well when gossips comes out. Following the consequences, how the rest of the story unfolds was told with a series of twists.
I liked simple settings. Maybe because it was a rural tale, but was so perfect. Florence Pugh has a potential to be a big star. The same goes to the director as well. This is her first film for me. She single handedly made this film look good. Not the year's most anticipated film, but definitely worth a watch. The Russian style British tale. One of the best films from such theme.
7/10
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)
A family with artistic vision, well, almost!
This is one of the first titles to attach with the upcoming Oscars. Yes, they also praised the Adam Sandler's performance, which saw a series stumble in the recent years. Besides, I believed in this director. The film also had Ben Stiller and Dustin Hoffman. All the fine actors with a fine filmmaker, this is one of the best dramas of the year. Not a family drama, though. And it is about almost a dysfunctional family. This kind of themes is always so fun to watch, and So I had a decent time with it.
Just a week away for their father's artwork show, the two step-brothers and a sister had arrived. They have come individually, then one of them learns about news of selling the property and soon protests. Then the other brother's lunch date with his father does not go as planned. Later an unexpected emergency brings them all to unity. Following that, how the story ends are told in the rest of the running time.
Definitely a good film, but not that awesome kind. Only the cast makes it so precious, and everything else are almost seen in other similar flicks. Sandler has been doing some good roles recently, but this one was even better. It's just a different kind of comedy which still suits him. Nothing to say about Stiller and the rest of the cast. They all as good as each other. Recommended!
7/10
Power Paandi (2017)
About first love and dignified man!
The directional debut film for actor Dhanush. After his father, brother, wife and sis-in-law, now it's his turn, but did he succeed! Well, no doubt that he's one of the finest actors of this era. Multi-talented, though this film was an above average. Seeing the characters and the message, it had potential, but too much traditional narration for commercial gain let it down. I mean it should have been a pure drama film without any songs and unrealistic fight sequences.
A famous ex-stunt coordinator, living happily in the twilight of his life with his son and his family. That's what he had thought until every time he ended up in trouble only to disappoint him. Then begins his soul search journey which lets us know his flashback and how the rest of the tale unfolds was told emotionally.
The narration splits into three and liked them all, but the third one was the best. Both, Rajkiran and Dhanush were good. The music was really a disappointment. One of the BG score was quite similar to the film '3'. Apart from stunts and music video, the rest of the film is what worth a watch. A decent direction, that he can still be a great director if try to give more realistic film for such a story. A rare film in Tamil. You won't see regularly a film about an old man. So it should be watched.
7/10
Cars 3 (2017)
The new age begins!
Having seen enough animated feature that possible eligible for the 2018 Oscars, I'm really disappointed with the result of some of the big titles. Yes, including this one, not big films, except 'Coco' are up to any impressive. The bright side is, after a long time, 2D animation might win. This was an okay film. Though I liked the story outline, but did not like how it all was narrated.
I have seen the evolution of 'Harry Potter'. I meant the cast, particularly the main three. For a decade, the little kids grew into older teenagers. But for an animation character, there's no concept of ageing. They always remain same. This film just gave a new perspective. I mean it talked about being or growing old and how it impacts our lives. That we can't hold forever our safe position. Sooner or later, the youngsters will take over it.
McQueen is enjoying his racing, competing with his friendly opponents. But it all changes when a young rookie rewrites the history. Without able to cope with the new generation and their aggression, how McQueen and Co like to counter the latest threat is the film's story. Liked such inspiring storyline. I mean it would inspire more the middle aged people than anybody else. But it is a fun film for all ages, particularly the kids. It is just like turning 'Rambo' into 'Creed', I just want a new beginning in the next sequel.
7/10
Despicable Me 3 (2017)
It's a family time!
I'm not a fan of this film, except I always loved Minions, particularly their solo film before this one. That prequel was awesome, so much fun. But it's hard to believe, this franchise has already reached three films/parts. Yeah, the Minions helped to find its place among the animation fans, but in this film they were kind of ignored. That's the truth. They had less screenspace which directly affected the film and those who love them.
Gru is set to meet his twin brother, Dru, who is dreaming to be like his father, a supervillain. But now changed Gru is not interested to help his brother. Instead, he uses him to accomplish on what he had failed recently. Okayish story, but it had some good fun. It's almost given a hint about the possible plot for the next sequel. I think kids would enjoy it without expecting much. So a one time watchable film.
6/10
The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017)
Returning home and fighting back for it.
Frankly, I did not think there will a sequel, but this one came out and I say I'm not fully disappointed. It is an acceptable film with a good message told with full of cliches. The story continued from where the previous one had ended. Right away a new adventure begins. Surly and his friends, after losing their stock of food, now forced to return to their natural home, the park. But the place is getting turned into an amusement park by an evil mayor. So they plan to fight back and how they succeed are the revealed in the remaining part.
As I said, not bad. At least the children would enjoy it better. The new characters are good, but that did not bring more fun. The comedies were average. With this year's average result from all the animated feature that had released, this film does not look so bad at all. Only if the story had been much better, it would have achieved a better result. The production and all the voice-over work were good. I don't know there will be another sequel, but I don't wish, except if they come up with some good story to tell for all ages. It's just once watchable!
6/10