cinema_lover97 Reviews

Prey (I) (2022)

A movie for the fans of the original classic

[8/10 · 10 August 2022]

Some people are complaining about the main character being a "Mary Sue", but the real Mary Sue was the dog. How come the dog survived and also took on the predator. The dog is who you should be targeting folks, the dog community is getting stronger. THE DOGS ARE TAKING OVER HOLLYWOOD.

Okay.

The movie is good, I really enjoyed it. I liked the characters of Amber Midthunder and Dakota Beavers. Naru wasn't perfect in the beginning of the movie. She is headstrong but she learns, observes the predator or by chance come upon a useful information to help defeat it. She makes use of her training, her surroundings, she gets help, and then she emerges as the ultimate survivor. That's why I liked her character.

The cinematography and the sound design was really good. Fight sequences were amazing, but with better camerawork they would have shined. The predator's design and make-up was good, but I wished they used the original design because it is perfect and iconic. The plot was simple, but effective for the characters and action to shine. The French hunters seemed out of place, but they served as nice fodder for the killer fatalities. Overall this movie is a well made summer blockbuster and should have been released in theaters.

Stay (I) (2005)

An overlooked and misunderstood gem.

[9/10 · 14 November 2021]

A true overlooked and misunderstood gem. The end reveal was far from anything I came up with, but it didn't feel like a betrayal as many people thought. A truly well made movie with amazing editing and scene transitions, the cinematography was beautiful. The director got successful in his attempt of at least making me feel disoriented with those editing choices. Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts were very good in their roles, but Ryan Gosling was the standout for me. Just give this movie a try even if you end up hating it.

Gattaca (1997)

Amazing film

[9/10 · 5 June 2021]

The concept and its handling that made the film great also required for me to suspend my disbelief over a certain aspect of the story, which I did happily, because of how much I fell in love with this film. I was not expecting it when I started watching it, but by the end I was completely emotional.

The topics of Eugenics and Genetic Identification were handled well, and I was quite frightened with the suggested outcomes of it because I can see it becoming a reality in future. But, I also think that the writer and director Andrew Niccol (Please make good films again) took the concept too far and made some results of it look too absurd and implausible. However, I love sci-fi films and I am always prepared to suspend my disbeliefs to let me loose myself in the wonder of it.

Every actor was great, but the performance and the character of Jude Law steal all my praises. The direction was good and the cinematography by Slawomir Idziak was phenomenal. One of the best looking films of the 90s. The whole second half of the film kept me on the edge. This film also proved that you don't need a loud outburst of musical score to make a scene or situation, tense or frightening. The reveals worked for me because I didn't see them coming.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

A high point in Cyberpunk genre

[8/10 · 20 October 2020]

I know what this film has done for the Sci-Fi and Cyberpunk genre. How many movies and tv shows it has inspired. This film is definitely an experience to soak in through your visual and auditory senses.

I saw this film 3 years back for the first time, and I didn't like it much then because I was expecting an action film, a result of watching the trailers. Today I watched it for the second time, and I liked it much more because I knew what to expect and the film is also seriously well made.

The two standouts for me are obviously the visuals and the score. I mean it when I say that the look and color palette of this film beat any Pixar animated movie. The world and characters in those movies look too glossy and superfluous. In this film, the images show a world that feels alive, breathing like an organism. The images are gritty and amazingly detailed. Every time I heard the vocals on the main theme composed by Kenji Kawai, I got goosebumps on my skin. The vocals sounded like a call from the past, telling the mysteries of life in my ear.

If I were to talk about the cons, this film only has two, in my opinion, that is the plot and character writing. The plot of this film felt like I jumped straight into the middle episode of a 5 episode long series. Most details related to Section 6 and their motives went over my head. I liked the philosophical dialogues, but it stopped me from relating to the characters or understand them. The ending made a lesser impact on me because of that. This film would have greatly benefited from a longer runtime.

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

An oddity

[7/10 · 24 August 2020]

This is the first Coen Brothers film that has left an underwhelming impression on me. I am currently watching all their films starting from their earliest and moving chronologically. Before this, I saw Barton Fink, a brilliant satire drama. I was expecting another brilliant (hard-hitting) satire, as the synopsis hinted. First off, I am not too unhappy. Salute to them for trying something new and not getting stuck to one genre or type of storytelling. The film is enjoyable, like a children's fantasy film, and that's my gripe with it. The film is great, but the characters and the message are too childish to take seriously.

I like fast-talking in films, but here fast-talk is used as an accessory, not a necessity. Time is money in their world and if they talk fast it would take less of their time, but it was overdone in my opinion. Second, I didn't like the character of Tim Robbins. I don't like seeing characters on screen who can't figure out the simplest of things. The purpose of his character was to serve as a pawn for the board members to realize their scheme to fruition. He is an imbecile but finds his way to the top. He is like the Tramp but not well realized or likable like him. The film also went overboard with the fantasy-like stuff.

The dialogues were smart and snappy as ever. Props go to The Coen Brothers as ever, as well as to Sam Raimi. Bruce Campbell was also in the movie, love seeing him on screen. My favorite character was of course Amy Archer, feisty and candid talker, Jennifer Jason Leigh played her part admirably. Tim Robbins gave a fantastic performance, Paul Newman was also great in his role. Buzz was the best saying 'Buddy' in his each sentence. The cinematography was the best thing about this film, Roger Deakins never disappoints, shots were well-composed and perfectly captured the dreamlike quality of the world. The score by Carter Burwell sounded full of magic, like Christmas.

Barton Fink (1991)

Hollywood is the villain

[9/10 · 23 August 2020]

The last 40 minutes of this film were insane. The story took such a turn that every prediction I made in mind regarding the following events got disintegrated in an instant. The Coen Brothers are masters in creating satire films. This time commenting on Hollywood where films are made for profits and if you can't make profits then you are of no use to them.

This film is nothing short of a marvelous achievement in direction, writing, acting, and cinematography. The dialogues were witty, sharp and full of nuances. The acting was fantastic, if I could pick one performance as the best it will be of Michael Lerner as Jack Lipnik. It also marked the first collaboration between the Coen Brothers and Roger Deakins. As expected from someone as great as Roger Deakins, the shots were amazing, especially the corridor shots.

Raising Arizona (1987)

Worth your time

[8/10 · 18 August 2020]

The hilarious opening montage and the accompanying monologue by Nicolas Cage establishing his thug life, and finding his wife was perfect in every way. It also had the funniest response to a question I have ever heard. 'Why do you say you feel trapped in a man's body?' 'Well, sometimes I get the menstrual cramps real hard.'

This film was hilarious, the dialogues were original, the acting was fabulous, and the direction by Joel Coen was creative and tight. The oddball comedy and characters were refreshing. I was smiling throughout the whole movie, but the Huggies chase sequence made me crack up with laughter. The film was filled with so many quotable dialogues, it was insane.

The introduction of the warthog biker was so good, he first reminded me of Ghost Rider which later Nicolas Cage portrayed on screen. The police and the FBI questioning Nathan Arizona in his home, the fight between John Goodman and Nicolas Cage, the bank robbery, and the maniacal AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH of John Goodman, who could forget that? and other moments will forever remain in my memory.

Nicolas Cage portrayed the oddball character of H.I. McDunnough fantastically. Holly Hunter was remarkable, the same goes for John Goodman, William Forsythe, everyone was incredible in their roles. Loved the cameo of M. Emmet Walsh as a joke-cracking co-worker. The yodeling made the already wonderful Huggies chase sequence so much better. The cinematography and the editing tremendously improved coming from Blood Simple. but, also retained the magic of the previous film.

This is a kind of film that I will never mind revisiting at least once every year.

Blood Simple (1984)

A tale of misunderstandings and paranoia

[8/10 · 18 August 2020]

The world saw the debut of four great talents in the history of cinema with this film. The phenomenal director duo the Coen Brothers, acting legend Frances McDormand, and renowned music composer Carter Burwell. Can also include Barry Sonnenfeld as this was only his third project, previously he had just worked on a documentary and a TV movie. Together they created Blood Simple., the finest debut film a director could hope of making.

The idea of hate and violence making a person simple and hinder his/her ability to make rational decisions in critical situations is executed very well. Nobody can go and commit murder and stay sane afterward, it's not possible. The person loses his mind and starts seeing every situation and person through a lens of suspicion and fear. Here, the bar owner's jealousy and hate towards his wife and her lover drive him mad to the extent of calling a hit on them. He and the private investigator takes every precaution in the book to avoid getting caught. However, when deceit enters the mind of the investigator, he tries something funny and it changes the lives of the characters forever.

The screenplay by the Coen Brothers is fantastic. Every dialogue and the turn of events works very well surprisingly (considering it was their first work), and doesn't feel out of place. The opening monologue sets the nature and tone of the movie perfectly. Characters remain unaware of the truth and carry different pieces of information in their mind. It gives rise to misunderstandings between them and tragedy follows. The one line a certain person says to another to expect to hear, he hears it again and the little ounce of trust between the acquaintances gets thrown out of the window, and it remains till the very end. The signature humor of the Coen Brothers is present in some scenes, but all-around the film tone is serious.

The performances are engaging and believable. M. Emmet Walsh is clearly the standout, playing a sleazy, sweaty, joke-cracking P.I. He seems harmless in the beginning but his actions prove otherwise. Frances McDormand is also good in her debut performance. Highlights of this movie for me are undoubtedly the editing, cinematography, and sound design. The camera movements mixed with clever and seamless editing gave me several moments when I rewound scenes to take in the beauty of them. The highway sequences captured the bleakness of the landscape and the hopelessness in the characters perfectly. I watched the director's cut in which the sounds were supposedly restored. The gun going off in the bar owner's office got my heart beating fast, the same goes for the whole climax, the gun-shot sounds were stress-inducing.

Giving it 8/10 only because I couldn't sympathize with any of the characters, and some scenes felt tiresome and uninteresting.

Naksha (2006)

Bad treasure hunt movie.

[2/10 · 17 August 2020]

This film had 4 decent things, they were: voiceover by Anil Kapoor, the animation segment of the Mahabharata, the mythology surrounding the Mahabharata and Karna, and the aerial shots of the landscape (not belonging to India). Rest everything was poor. They ripped off the story elements and whole scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and The Rundown. The jokes were school-level bad and not at all funny, they were goofy really with unnecessary and out of place nods to Sunny Deol's father and his religion. The casting was poor, especially of the side characters. Songs were bad and really downgraded the little fun I was having while watching the movie. The score was too overbearing and the same couple of themes played throughout the whole movie.

The aerial shots were overutilized to death. After the end of each scene they were used and the same shots again and again. Editing was noob level with slow-motion done to death in fight scenes and off-putting cuts to the landscape shots in the middle of conversations. The tone of the movie jumped after every few scenes from emotional to funny to serious. Ten minutes after the death of Vivek Oberoi's father and his funeral I was watching a titillating dance number. The action was bad with bad guys flying after each punch and kick. Sunny Deol was literally a superhero, he was firing shotguns standing in front of the enemies, completely exposed, without getting shot at at least once. There were so many plot holes and logical inconsistencies in the story. Every hint was served to them, every puzzle was too easy to solve.

WASTE OF TIME.

Distant (2002)

An outstanding example of honesty in storytelling.

[9/10 · 1 July 2020]

I have heard both good and bad things about Turkish films, but I have heard only good things about Nuri Bilge Ceylan's films. So, I decided to start my journey to explore his work and in parallel Turkish cinema with Uzak. Just saying that I loved this film will be an understatement. I felt this piece of pure visual art. I understood the characters' psyche, their wishes, their desires. I was experiencing those feelings with them because some of their traits and vulnerabilities resembled mine. I loved the portrayal of who they are through their actions and less through dialogues.

The dissociation of Mahmut from other people in his life and himself was depicted with unnerving honesty. Yusuf's inability to get a hold of his life and priorities made me hate him, but his condition also made me sympathize with him. The unclear resolution for their story was handled very well thematically. The direction was sublime, and the cinematography was breathtaking. I liked the nod to Andrei Tarkovsky. The absence of music gave the film a realistic feel. The acting by the two leads was outstanding. I am glad that both the actors and the director won numerous accolades for this film, they deserved it.

Cosmos: Possible Worlds: Vavilov (2020) Season 1, Episode 4

The Best episode of Cosmos till now in my opinion.

[10/10 · 22 March 2020]

This episode really made me think that we all owe our lives to someone. The people who sacrificed their comforts, energy, and time to help us prosper. The story of Nikolai Vavilov encouraged me to do something, but also broke my heart. It is not easy to suffer for so long without breaking. All the other scientists that gave their lives to finish documenting the seed specimens must be remembered as well.

Apart from this the episode was extremely well crafted. The stop motion animation was excellent. The narration by Neil Degrasse Tyson was fascinating and thought-provoking as always. This is why I watch 'Cosmos' and recommend it to others and will continue to do so.

A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

I cannot explain how amazing Gena Rowlands is in this film.

[10/10 · 17 January 2020]

Sometimes there comes an occasion when after watching a movie, you feel really grateful or immensely satisfied. You get stuck in thoughts and can't get the experience or performances out of your head. These thoughts don't frustrate but develop you in some way. Such an effect I think I experienced when I saw 'A Woman Under the Influence' directed by immensely talented actor and director late John Cassavetes.

There are two main characters in the movie Nick Longhetti (Peter Falk) and his wife Mabel Longhetti (Gena Rowlands). The performances they gave here are the perfect epitome of a powerhouse performance. The range of emotions they cover is astounding. There are two dinner scenes in the movie that get uncomfortable and difficult to watch as they progress. It happens by setting up the situation and bringing out the characters' genuine reaction to it. The marvelously crafted screenplay by John Cassavetes shines in these moments.

Gena Rowlands's portrayal of Mabel is one of the best method performances I have seen. It's like she became the character. I very much related to her character and sympathized with her. Peter Falk was terrific, he played the role of her short-tempered husband very well. His sanity gets tested many times in the film. The child actors were good too. Being an Indie film and made on a low budget, most of the supporting actors were family members of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands, who were married to each other at that time. And they do not disappoint.

John Cassavetes does a marvelous job as director. He focuses on showing things that many directors refrain from showing. He succeeds in showing the characters as vulnerable and fleshed out as possible. The cinematography is fantastic, and the shots are very uniquely framed. If you have an interest in watching old films, do give it a chance.

War (2019)

A disappointing addition to Bollywood's list of action movies

[5/10 · 4 January 2020]

Watching War felt like doing homework that I didn't want to do but had to. Terrible acting, slow motion entries after every 5 minutes, shaky cam, terrible editing, no originality in stunts. Over-the-top patriotism to sell the movie, of course. The plot and dialogues both were disappointing. 5 stars are the most I would give.

I, Daniel Blake (2016)

A man's struggle and suffering portrayed convincingly

[10/10 · 2 January 2020]

An honest and heart-wrenching film made by the renowned English director Ken Loach. He won the Palme d'Or in Cannes Film Festival for this movie and it also won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film of the Year. It is one of the best films that came out in 2016. In my opinion, it deserved all the praise it received cause it affected me on a personal level and the feeling stayed for several days. Lots of research was done by the director and screenwriter Paul Laverty, his longtime collaborator before filming began. They interviewed people who worked in the Department of Work and Pensions as well as the beneficiaries and incorporated their experiences.

A man, suffering under the system and being denied his rights. I thought these types of things only happened in my country, but disappointingly this problem is everywhere. The director presents the starkly realistic struggle of a carpenter, Daniel Blake (Dave Johns), applying for support allowance. He befriends a single mother, Katie (Hayley Squires), with two kids also struggling due to the faulty state system. We see their friendship develop and helping each other through difficult situations, but the hope for justice proves futile.

The characters, the acting, and the dialogues are so realistic that it resembles a documentary rather than a film. The acting by the actors is nothing short of brilliant. Dave Johns's portrayal of a proud, honest and compassionate character is one of the best, and I sympathized with his predicament. I clapped for him while watching an act of rebelliousness by him. The direction is pure and Ken Loach's talent for creating emotional moments is praiseworthy.

The screenplay by Paul Laverty is original and avoids unnecessary cliches. The colors have a tinge of gray representing the cold-hearted world. The film elicits genuine sympathy for the characters and does not cheat our emotions by using sentimental music, in fact, there is no background score at all. The actors do the hard job of making us feel emotionally drenched. It is a movie that needs to be seen at least once.

Tampopo (1985)

A must watch for movie and food lovers

[10/10 · 2 January 2020]

We all have seen American or Spaghetti Western movies or are certainly familiar with the cowboy protagonist. He arrives in a secluded town, hears the plea of the townspeople and agrees to help them to get rid of the bandits. In this movie, we have our cowboy with his hat Gorô (Tsutomu Yamazaki) as a truck driver, who stops his truck in front of a ramen shop to satiate his hunger on a rainy night. He gets in a fight with a man and his goons. The shop owner, Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) nurses him and asks him to teach her to make good quality Ramen. And the adventure or I say the most refreshing movie experience ensues.

The movie is quirky and definitely not your average comedy. Apart from the main story, there are many short vignettes sprinkled throughout the story. All are centered around food and cover different aspects of people's interactions with food. My favorite vignettes are the one involving 6 men ordering food and the one in which an old lady terrorizes a shopkeeper by squeezing his wares.

Tampopo is the female character's name, a widow with a child. She is very resilient towards her goal to become the best Ramen chef. But, it's not only about the food, it is also about the people she is serving. Preparing a good meal is a delicate art and requires unflinching attention and perseverance. The character of Gorô is also not the only one to teach her that but, a group of people help her in different ways to master the dish.

The acting is brilliant by all the actors. Of course, the standouts are Nobuko Miyamoto and Tsutomu Yamazaki. Young Ken Watanabe plays the role of trucker accompanying Tsutomu Yamazaki. The direction is flawless by Jûzô Itami. Inspired from other previous great works, it still feels fresh and having an original voice of its own. The shots are perfectly framed, wide shots and close-ups serve a purpose. The tone of the movie get uneven at times because of the various short stories inserted throughout but it never breaks the engagement with the story. There is no artificial lighting used, the nighttime looks like nighttime. I believe it was a creative decision rather than budget constraints. See this movie, it's worth your time.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

Unnecessary long Breaking Bad episode

[7/10 · 28 December 2019]

I don't think we needed this movie, still I was excited to watch it when the news came out. After watching it, I can say that it came out too late. It should have come out in 2014. It's me saying who finished the show some months back, imagine the people who last saw it in 2013. Still the movie is nowhere near as bad.

The pacing is like a Breaking Bad episode with long drawn-out flashbacks and the film drags because of it, unlike BB episodes. Also not much new happens in the movie. The story could have been crammed into a short film of 20-30 minutes. The saving grace of the movie is Aaron Paul and the cinematography. The acting by Aaron Paul is straight from his golden days. The film looks beautiful, the shots are colorfull, still, and reflective. The technical work is great, it's just the narrative that falls short.

Rashomon (1950)

Engaging movie but not Kurosawa's finest

[9/10 · 28 December 2019]

Rashômon is the first Kurosawa movie I watched, and I loved the narrative, as well as the visual and sound choices made by the director to elevate tension. It was a very good psychological murder-mystery even from today's standards. This is just the beginning and I intend to watch all his films.

I found the first half to be slow as compared to the last half but it worked well as my engagement with the story and the surrounding mystery just kept increasing. The characters were interesting as well as some of the dialogues. The critique on the human tendencies made in the movie is still relevant today. The beginning sequence and the ending sequence is what I enjoyed most from a visual standpoint.

Lying and Stealing (2019)

A decent movie.

[6/10 · 23 December 2019]

Movie was decent and acting was okay. Direction was okay, definitely liked the camerawork and color grading. The script played very safe in terms of thrilles and stakes. It was a very light watch for a crime-drama. A one time watch and then you will forget about it in a day.

Kabir Singh (2019)

Shahid Kapoor is good, Kabir Singh not as much.

[6/10 · 23 December 2019]

I haven't seen Arjun Reddy and taking into account that both movies are same, i didn't watch it first. So, Kabir Singh is a very divisive movie. There are some things which I liked and some, which I didn't. I liked the acting by the leads and the supporting cast. The songs are good too. I didn't like the story (especially how the two lead characters were written), the runtime, and the editing. The direction and camera work was decent, some scenes were well shot.

I hated the character of Kabir Singh from scene one, maybe it was written like that to be hated. His violent outbursts and how he treated women made me hate him. I also didn't like Preeti's character because she fell in love with him and her character was also badly written. The runtime of 3 hours was too much and could be cut short by 20 minutes at least. The ending is typical Bollywood happy ending and feels rushed. A plot point in the movie is directly taken from Flight (2012) starring Denzel Washington.

It Chapter Two (2019)

Pennywise is not scary anymore

[6/10 · 23 December 2019]

I had high expectations with this movie but, ultimately the reviews and ratings were right. It is not as good as the first IT. The scares were not scary for me and came of as unintentionally funny. Various scenes in the movie felt lazily written, especially the fare scene in the beginning. The climax was also unsatisfactory. The movie is unnecessarily long. The acting is good. The main 6 leads played their part well, their behavior resembled their younger counterparts. The CGI is good but overused. The direction is average. The score is ok, editing decent. If the story was good, I would have given it an eight.

High Flying Bird (2019)

Not bad...

[7/10 · 23 December 2019]

A sports agent challenging the game that is controlling the game for the game. This Steven Soderbergh movie is a look into the game played around basketball. I enjoyed the movie even though I didn't get the conversations in the beginning cause of the basketball terms thrown around. But, the character of Ray Burke and the dialogues kept me hooked. I really enjoyed the exchanges between characters and they uplifted the simple plot of the movie.

The movie was shot on an iPhone just like his previous movie Unsane (2018). The camera angle kept changing throughout every single conversation, especially in the first one that takes place in the beginning. I found it odd at first but got used to it. André Holland's acting is good and rest are fine too. There is no score in the movie apart from a few songs. The pacing is good, long cuts are used. An overlooked and underrated movie which should be watched.

Hellboy (2019)

I hate this movie and no one can change my mind

[3/10 · 23 December 2019]

One of the worst movies that came out this year in my opinion. A disgrace to the character of Hellboy which Guillermo Del Toro made iconic and bigger than its parts. The acting was awful, the characters were awful, the dialogues were awful, the story was awful, cgi was awful. In a nutshell, an awful movie.

Ad Astra (2019)

I liked this movie and will see it again in future

[9/10 · 10 December 2019]

I may be a little biased in favor of this movie but at least I am admitting it openly. Now the question arises why am I biased? It's cause it is the film which the real filmmakers would like or would have liked, certainly the ones who defined cinema with visual and thought-provoking storytelling. They didn't believe or cared for our tastes, they just wanted to express themselves regardless of what people thought. A story to tell for the soul, not for the financial goal. James Gray knows this and he is respecting the art form and not surrendering to the audience's demands. Yes, the trailer publicized the movie as something entirely different but I believe that was the studio's decision who wanted to market it as some space-action sci-fi movie to make a profit on box-office.

The movie is flawed, I know that. The science is flawed and many things in the movie don't make sense from a scientific point of view. The timeline is inconsistent. The technology doesn't fall in line with the period. This may be because they didn't consult a scientist or a physicist and so on. Or maybe that the director didn't want his movie to be bound by the science, thus restricting his vision and the things he wanted to achieve or portray in the movie. The second issue is the pacing of the movie. We all must know or at least the people who are aware of the director's work is that almost all his movies are a slow burn. So, why did you expected it to be something different? Believe me when I say that I have watched more slow films than this, and this was as fast-paced and engaging as they come. The same self-made critics regard 2001: A Space Odyssey as the greatest sci-fi movie ever made, but it was also a slow burn, slower than this movie in fact. I am not attacking the greatness of 2001: A Space Odyssey, it is a 10/10 for me, but at least people should try to appreciate an original vision in the slew of remakes and reboots. As far as the ending is concerned, I do not hate the anticlimactic ending, it respected the narrative of the first two acts. I was satisfied with it, and the hopeful closure it gave to Brad Pitt's character dilemma.

There are many things that I liked about this movie. The direction, James Gray communicated the vastness and emptiness of space with such wonder and coldness that I felt it reaching towards me. I having an immense interest in astronomy and the cosmos, in general, found it transcending. The cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema was outstanding and nothing short of jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The editing was amazing, the transition between shots was smooth, long cuts were used which I was happy to see. Music by Max Richter was sublime. The mix between ambient music and industrial-rock inspired noises were pleasing to the ears. Production design and costume design were top-notch. The acting by Brad Pitt was him proving that he can restrain his natural acting instincts and give a performance that hides his face and shows a character.

The reason I am giving it a 9 instead of a 10 is because I thought that Brad Pitt's monologues went on for too long and could have been used less frequently. Some gripes with the movie logic and how some somethings couldn't have happened but happened anyway. This is a slow movie and if you can't handle a slow burn then don't watch it, it is as simple as that.

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Among my all-time favorite movies

[10/10 · 8 December 2019]

"Alright, Alright, Alright."

One of the best and most influential teen comedy films ever made. Dazed and Confused is among my all-time favourites. I have seen this movie so many times that I have lost count. Richard Linklater is one of my favorite directors and in the top 3 when it comes to directing coming-of-age movies. He gets it. He understands teenagers, how they behave, how they talk, how they waste their time talking crap. He has done such a tremendous job of capturing those teenage emotions in this movie, and in his later works too, which many great directors have failed to depict convincingly. Every performance, every dialogue feels natural and improvised rather than scripted, and that's the genius of Richard Linklater and the cast.

Set in the post-Vietnam era of the 70s, this movie is about some bunch of teenagers chilling out on the last day of school before vacations. The upperclassmen are looking for freshmen prey and the incoming freshmen are trying to avoid them, and there's also a party being thrown. It can also be termed as a 'stoner comedy' because almost every character is either getting high or drunk in the movie. It might put some viewers off, but it realistically portrays the lives of American teens in that era as I heard. Ragging of juniors by the seniors is hilarious and pretty relatable.

The acting is goofy for the most part, but it doesn't affect the experience and makes the characters seem like real people. The pacing is excellent, the movie doesn't get boring at any point. The soundtrack features 70s rock songs and they are amazing. Each track is more than capable to put anyone in a good mood and enjoy the movie. The movie is wild, non-stop fun, and has aged really well for a teen movie.

Persona (1966)

An Unforgettable Experience

[10/10 · 20 November 2019]

Every movie has a plot, characters, a beginning, an end, a message, a sense of closure. They are made to entertain us, to make us laugh or cry, to fill us with excitement and awe. There are thousands of movies like that that one can watch but only a few leave an everlasting impact. Rather than being a movie they serve as an experience. They leave us contemplating after watching them, gobsmacked, confused, and with the question: What it all Meant? Persona is just that. A question without an answer.

Released in 1966, it is considered an avant-garde masterpiece by Ingmar Bergman and one of the greatest films ever made. It is a film about the bonding between an actress who has decided to remain silent on purpose and the nurse assigned to take care of her. The direction is sublime and intimate, focusing on close-up shots to convey character personality. The acting by both the actresses is phenomenal. The stories told by Alma (Bibi Andersson) are fascinating to hear and the silent expressions of Elisabet Vogler (Liv Ullmann) are riveting to watch. The visuals captured by Sven Nykvist are beautiful and speak a thousand words. The dialogues written by Ingmar Bergman are philosophical and psychoanalytic which questions identity. How our choices shape our identity/persona? The background score for this movie is harrowing. Use of random noises to make the viewer feel uneasy, going very well with the visuals. Most of the time the score is absent and is used where required. The editing is also very good. The opening sequence is the best example of seamless video editing.

The opening is really something and disturbing. The ending is confusing and open to interpretations. This movie was way ahead of its time when it was released. It also caused controversy at that time due to its subject matter. Watching it I never felt that I was watching an old black and white movie in Swedish. I was so engrossed in it. It was more fascinating than any other movie I have watched this year. It left an impression on me that I can never forget.