ranikaith Reviews

Rye Lane (2023)

Charming movie

[9/10 · 9 April 2023]

I dont like romantic movies at all, but this one was so charming and different, i have to change my opinion about it. The chemistry between both actors was amazing, although the plot wasnt spectular, the director managed to keep the watcher interested. The setting is simple: two characters encountering each other per chance after an ugly break up and reflecting about their love life, while strolling through south london. During this time they encounter a lot of hilarious situations, bonding and developing feelings for each other. The camera technique and use of bright colours was refreshing and somehow different. I can only recommend this movie!

Wedding Season (2022)

It was ok

[6/10 · 17 October 2022]

I enjoyed the movie, although on the most parts it was quite predictable and the storyline wasnt new or innovative. The main characters had a really good chemistry between them, so it was quite pleasant to watch them interact. Besides that i was a little bit annoyed by the white dude ( the husband to be from the protagonists sister) cause its one thing to make efforts to learn about a new culture to fit more in or please your in laws (and its a really nice gesture too) but another to reproduce cliches and be cultural insensible ( iam not sure if it was intentional to bring in some light hearted humour, but in my eyes it backfired and most of his sayings or doings were quite rude) Otherwise an okish movie, you dont miss anything if you dont watch it, but if you do its also not a huge time waste.

Werewolf by Night (2022 TV Movie)

Dark and enchanting

[9/10 · 16 October 2022]

I was hooked right from the beginning as i love vintage horror ! The main characters defied stereotypes with Jack as an sensible, empathetic and caring man, not willing to participate in senseless violent hunts for monsters but saving them ( except when he turns into a werewolf, but then he is only a threat for humans) and opposite from that Elsa a strong headed woman, (also aversing violence but using it when she has to) battling her way through to get to the bloodstone and only participating relectunctaly, to defend the family honor. A lovely film, i only wished it was much longer! I am really excited for future Features especially from this director.

Snabba Cash (2021– )

Dark, but intriguing serial

[9/10 · 4 August 2022]

So after learning just recently about Sweden leading the statistics in highest death toll through gun violence in Europe, i encountered this serial and had to watch it immediately. I was hooked by it instantly and couldnt stop watching it. The characters were interesting, the acting top notch, and the serial painted the sad reality of swedens gang violence. Such a beautiful country, but ruined by these gangs, to learn more about the real extension of all these problems i can only recommend various documentaries on a well known video platform.

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2019)

Lovely

[8/10 · 31 July 2022]

I really loved this movie, it was really captivating and i lost myself in the beautiful landscapes and mountain shots. The story itself isnt new, but still in his own way touching and give insight into the modest mentality of buthans inhabitants. I enjoyed the simpleness and beauty of their way of living without the film romantizising or painting over the struggles, which comes along with such kind of living.

Shyam Singha Roy (2021)

Can be skipped

[2/10 · 28 January 2022]

Awful movie with an illogical plot twist. Iam astonished about the fact, that movies these days still portray men as an saviour over women, who decides to rescue them when they fell in love with her, but otherwise doesnt care about the injustice and patriacharl structures deep within the society. And of course the main heroine can leave the earth only after seeing her deceased lover once again- such a cheesy love story🙄 About the "Devadasis" iam not informed well enough to give a proper statement, but their history is quite complicated and they shouldnt be reduced to mere prostitutes and dancers, who worked in temples. (But the problem shown in the movie was indeed a huge issue back than ).

Another maior issue is the huge age difference between the hero and another actress, which was certainly a minor, when shooting the intimate scenes. Its quite concerning, that she was hired to act despite her young age. And regarding the caste issues, there are more sensible ways to portray the plights of the oppressed caste and empower them, without a person from the "upper " caste rescuing them again. I refer to a tamil movie named ,, Jai Bhim" which really did a good job in that. The few stars i gave were for the camera man- he did an amazing job, otherwise this movie is a huge waste of time.

Another Round (2020)

Heartbreaking

[8/10 · 17 July 2021]

It was really an interesting movie, which deeply touched me. In my eyes the movie didnt want to show the negative aspects about drinking alcohol in first place but showcased human sorrow, loneliness and boredom of every day life.

Drinking alcohol was their way of handling stress at work, unhappy marriages and to drown their feelings of inadequacy and low self worth in it.

It was heartbreaking for me to watch how the four men slipped down the path of self destruction, eventhough some of them managed to get out of it.

But apart from all of this the movie managed to convey some kind of hope, because all this negative feelings wont stay forever and somehow life will go on, regardless of the outcome.

I also think this movie portrays really well the inability of many men to handle emotional pain. But its not even the fault of the men themselves, but societys failure to raise young boys and men, who deals with emotional hardships in a more healthy way...

Sara's (2021)

Much needed food for thought

[8/10 · 17 July 2021]

Really touching and well thought film. The movies deals with an important topic: The pressure of having children, eventhough some are not ready or doesnt want them in the first place. I can imagine that this must be a controversial topic for mostly patricharcal and conversative indian society, but its important to speak about this. I know that many wont agree with me, but noone should condemn a woman for not wanting children regardless which reasons she has, because in the end its her body and her life. And people judging that the movie promotes wrong ideals; abortions or favors career over having family : they should know its a very personal decision for every woman, and because we are able to produce children, doesnt mean we have too. And some are happy with a fulfilling career without kids and some not, and both life models are alright. And because many seem not to understand, this movie is not about career women, who could potentially raise children, but about respecting decisions a woman takes for herself without having to justify herself for it! I also liked the background shoots(the flats were decorated so well!) and also the music blended perfectly into the movie.

Ajeeb Daastaans (2021)

Only "Geeli pucchi" is brilliant

[6/10 · 24 April 2021]

The overall rating is low, because of the weak plots of the other three films except "Geeli pucchi", which stands out with terrific perfomances of the actors and an amazing plot. I refer to an interview with the director of the movie, in which he explains the idea behind the film and deepens the understanding of it. I would only recommend to watch the third part of this anthology.

A Death in the Gunj (2016)

Amazing social commentary

[9/10 · 18 February 2021]

This film dismantles toxic masculinity and shows the impact of it on everyday lives. The film revolves around a young man called ,,Shutu", who joined his cousin to a huge family gathering in McCluskieganj. Arriving there he encounters his other cousins and him being of a more sensible and calm nature is targeted by them and being mocked of. They play tricks on him, freightening him, well aware, that he gets scared easily. Shutu also struggles with mental health issues after losing his father two years ago, he never processed this loss, still grieving for him and as a result failing his final exams( which he hides before everyone ). Especially one cousin stands out with narcisstic, machoistic and violent behaviour, even hitting him in the game of kabbadi. But the others including the women, do not interfere much, eventhough one time the wife of shutus cousin questioned the ill treatment of shutu through the toxic men .He gets more and more isolated, hurt in his feelings and shamed by the rest of their family. After a crucial experience in the woods, where he was left alone in a pit forgotten by the others after searching for the missing daughter of his cousin, something inside him breaks. He turns his pain& sorrow against himself, which is shown in the climax of this movie. The movie depicts perfectly toxic masculine behaviour, and how it destroys the obvious more ,,weak" (aka sensible, or ones with mental health issues )people in the society. And it doesnt matter if it comes from fellow men or women who have internalised this kind of thinking and pass it on to their children. An amazing social commentary i really enjoyed watching!

Funny Boy (2020)

film for a ,,white audience"

[3/10 · 14 February 2021]

After some time i managed to watch this film, and i must confess, iam really shocked how a movie like this, which got so many financial support can turn out so pretty bad.

1. The tamil spoken was soo cringeworthy, it was really butchered and every time they said something in tamil, a part of me died inside. I was really wondering, why they were not able to hire a native speaker to rehearse the dialogues in a proper manner.

2. The movie was in certain parts really slow, and i had a hard time to follow the story line. Sometimes i also had the impression, that the director kind of tried to please the ,,white intellectual audience" with references to political matters which diminished the plight of tamils .The scenes from the progroms shown in the movie didnt do any justice to the real historic incidents and also the choose of the actors, who nearly all were fair and had north indian looks was questionable. This film also had many plotholes, making the story unbelievable.

It appeared to me after watching this film, that the director( who is of punjabi origin) wasnt interested in producing a film with the most realistic depiction of the historic events, (which displaced nearly several 100000 people), but wanted to push her own career with choosing a topic which is not really present in todays cinema and many people do not know much about. So for example a white uninformed audience would be really impressed by the setting, the upper class household and the love story between the two protagonists, but for the rest especially the ones who were affected by this dark chapter of ,,sri lankan" history its a terrible depiction of their history.

The Great Indian Kitchen (2021)

A Slap for Patriarchy

[10/10 · 17 January 2021]

2021 is starting amazing atleast concerning Malayalam cinema! A hart hitting perfectly drafted story confronting the viewer with the harsh reality of many indian women in society. The theme revolves around cooking&the kitchen, in which most of the storyline is set in. This movie reveals the deeply ingrained patriacharl mindset of todays men, who take their wifes work for granted and enslave them for the sake of tradition and convenience. It also deals with religion and its impact on womans role in society, questioning the practice of isolating women during their periods, because they are considered as ,, impure". Its also an important watch, because it brings up the right questions like amidst all this tiring work& cooking& attending mens' needs you are wondering if the woman will ever find time to go after her passion and fulfill her needs. Its a must watch and really empowering for every woman! The actors perfomances are excellent especially from the protagonist, the camera shoots/technique was carried out perfectly & reinforces the films message.

Colour Photo (2020)

Emotional& touching movie

[8/10 · 2 November 2020]

I really liked this movie, its different from the telugu movies ive seen before. The underlying topic(colourism) is a really important one, embedded in a romantic love story in the 90s. Especially the main characters were drawn out well& were interesting , except for the brother of the girl( he was potrayed as a narcissistic, mysoginistic and controlling psychopath, but for my taste his character was over the top and his motives quite immature). I also liked the dialogues, they were really thoughtful and deep, and encouraging the viewer to think about them, but at the same time you had really funny punchlines. The cinematography was astonishing ! and the music was fitting perfectly into the film. What i didnt like was the ending because it kind of feels misplaced and maybe encourages the youth to do things, which will harm them, instead of finding better solutions to deal with hardships in life ( by the way the high cigarette consum was also critical). The topic spoken about is important, but it would have been more brave and even groundbreaking, if the woman had been darker and the men fairer, because colourism affects woman much more than men.( but this is a minor aspect ) Otherwise a really touching movie, with amazing perfomances especially from the main character ( its the first movie after a long time, which made me cry) :)

Sanam Teri Kasam (2016)

Worst movie I've ever watched!!!

[1/10 · 1 November 2020]

There is a reason i tend to avoid commercial Bollywood movies and this one is probably one of the worst from this industry! A Casteist, mysoginistic and backwards storyline, with illogical movie twists combined with awful actors. I was shocked to see, that this movie conveys so many wrong messages for example that you can be only be considered as attractive if you fulfil certain beauty standards. At no point in this terrible movie the importance of your character and personality was highlighted. Secondly the movie potrays wrong ideals of relationships and support abusive behaviour. Best example here is the sister of the protagonist, who wants urgently to marry her bf, hence pressurizing her own sister to find herself a bf as soon as possible, eventhough she isnt even ready to marry. And instead of walking out of her obviously toxic relationship( a men, who wants to leave you because you cant marry him as he wish to is certainly the wrong one!) she turns against her sister and abuses her mentally.Where is your decency and pride to turn against your own flesh& blood?! So this movie is wrong on so many levels and iam honestly devastated, that such Kind of movie are being made.

Earth (1998)

A solid book adaptation

[8/10 · 24 October 2020]

So after reading the book ,,IceCandyman" by Bapsi Sidhwa, unto which this film is based upon on, i decided also to watch the film. And i were not disappointed, the movie is able to capture the basic ideas of the book and turn them into a well thought movie plotline. Some of the characters from the book didnt turn up in the movie and there were also some of the storylines (including the end ) alternated for the sake of a two hour movie, but the message from book and movie aswell still remains the same. Before reading her book i didnt realize how severe and traumatic the partition of India& Pakistan must have been for the people, who were/ are still affected by it. Its a shame, what the British did and this trauma of mass displacement, forced migration, and killings of millions of people will be integral part of the indian subcontinent. I recommend everonye to also read the book, it will give a deeper insight into the personality of each character and the storyline!

Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost (2013)

Shattering, but thoughtful movie

[9/10 · 24 October 2020]

Iam still struggling to process the movie, its unbelievably dark, deep and has lots of layers, which you wont understand at first.( At least i didnt). I was hooked right from the beginning and were really intrigued to know how the story unfolds. Its one of these rare masterpieces, which you leaves you clueless at the beginning, but after rewatching you slowly start to comprehend the concept behind it. Iam aware, that this movie might be not suitable for the broader audience, cause it demands patience and interest for folklore& different storytelling, but its worth watching and i can recommend this movie to every movie lover! It will strengthen your understanding for movies on a different level! This is the first punjabi movie Ive ever watched and iam glad that it turned out to be a masterpiece.

Chippa (2019)

A touching film

[8/10 · 22 October 2020]

Its a really nice and touching film, with an outstanding acting by the main character. Although its narrated from a childs perspective, i had lot to Think about. So i really enjoyed watching it.

V (2020)

Last telugu movie i will watch

[3/10 · 2 October 2020]

So after watching the second completely disappointing telugu (action)movie, i guess i wont be friends anymore with telugu cinema until there will be a major change in everything!

Iam completely aware about the entertainment character of this movie but is it too much to ask for an interesting, not cliche driven story line without an police officer driven by toxic masculinity traits, with a side female character who worships him to push bis ego, but has otherwise nothing to offer and an antagonist, who is a bad caricature of his pedant in the tamil movie ,, Vikram Vedha"? Apart from this major weaknesses, the story lacks of logic, beginning right at the beginning with plotholes and irrational decisions made by the taskforce, highly unlikely incidents, cheap slapstick moments( like the parents of the woman, who are drawn to sharp things, like please come on)and a predictable story line, which is only mediocre, and no different to the other 100 crime thrillers before.

So the only thing iam really grateful for is after watching this awful movie is that i realized how much more developed and progressive the tamil cinema is with better storytelling and character development, potraying of strong female characters and innovative ideas eventhough they are far from perfect and have a lot of work to do. (But still nothing beats malayalam Cinema, they are another level and offers one brilliant movie fter the other)

The last thing i have to say about telugu Cinema( because Ive noticed this quite often now) is that they have a massive problem with mysoginistic and backwards story lines, reinforcing outdated role models, trying to reach a mostly chauvinistic manly audience and until this changes they will lag far behind the other movie industries in south india.

Bulbbul (2020)

Promising movie

[6/10 · 1 July 2020]

I really loved the background, the atmosphere, the dresses and clothing-everything, it was beyond beautiful! The story also starts promising with introducing Bulbbul, a child bride , which is getting married to a much older man with royal background. She has to leave her home and moves into his mansion,alongside his twin brother, who is mentally restricted ,his wife and the youngest brother of them, Satya, who is at similar age like Bulbbul. She gets comforted by Satya her only friend and companion, with whom she shares a deep bond till the is a young woman. But due to the influence of her envious sister-in law, Bulbbuls husband gets suspicious of her and Satya and what happens after that is told in the movie. The story also revolves around the tale of a demonwoman,who is murdering men, guilty of abusing their woman and young girls. So the movie has a lot of potential, but still i felt that there was missing something. The camera technique was brilliant though, but the story couldnt keep up with it . The story itself lagged at somepoint, and there were soo much unnecessary informations,which were distracting the viewer, so that i lost track, what is important for understanding the movie. And at some point it was clear, what this story about the demonwoman was and after that i lost interest and skipped much of the scenes.. So the second part of the film was really predictable. Its hard to describe, what bothers me about this film , but i would say ,that it tries too hard in being asthetically pleasing with the amazing background shoots, creating a spooking atmosphere and delivering a feminist message at the same time,( I do not want to say that it wont work ) but here It fails, making the movie uneven and appearing not well put together. So its really lacking of subtle suspense and deep story telling. But still the feminist message is important though and i appreciate the makers to adress such an important topic.

The Elder One (2019)

Brilliant

[9/10 · 1 July 2020]

Iam still in awe about the story, the actors, the background music-everything. I was hooked from the beginning, immersing into the beautiful island in Kerala and then moving with the kid into the noisy, crowded red district area of Mumbai. Its one of the best movies ive ever seen! I dont want to give any Information away about the plot, because everyone should see for himself, but i can say that the story is innovative and brave , dealing with a sensitive and important topic in such a sensible and touching way. Iam falling in love with Malayalam movies again and again. They have such a different take on making movies, way ahead of all other industries in India and i would even say way ahead of other Film makers from outside of india. They are capable of telling stories in a simple, but emotional manner, enabling the viewer to connect with the characters on a deeper level- like here in Moothon. Maybe thats the reason Iam still soo touched by the film . A must watch!!

Kappela (2020)

Simple but neat

[8/10 · 26 June 2020]

So the only industry i can rely on delivering constantly good movies is the Malayalam one. And this one is no exception. Although the concept& plot isnt new, the movie is really well made from the beginning till the end and hooks the viewers interest throughout the film. I just couldnt stopp watch the movie because the plot was so interesting, and at first i thought it will be a lovely romantic film but somewhere near the end i slowly realized that its a thriller with an important message for the young women living in India. It adresses a really important issue and i really hope that more people watch it und are getting aware about this ongoings. Besides that the film was perfectly executed, the shooting location on the hill beautiful and the BGM suited the film. In recent times i've watched many films, who had a potentially interesting story, but were not executed well, so its really refreshing to see, that there are still people out there, who are gifted and able to shoot an solid, but really amazing Film. So in the end its all about quality. Well done!

HIT (2020)

Below its potential

[3/10 · 22 June 2020]

So this was my first telugu movie ive watched and i were a little disappointed, because it was praised as must watch, but honestly you can skip it. The beginning was promising, making the viewer curious about the further plot, but then it got boring. I didnt like the figure of Vikram at all, he is arrogant, selfish and a classical,,overachiever'', but fails to treat his fellow colleguages as humans. So his attitude was hard to endure. I werent able to sympathize with him, not even after getting to know his tragic past, which wasnt revealed fully but hinted at in flash backs.( how much bad luck you can have to be constantly triggered by burning fire?) The story was sometimes over the top and unrealistic and what also irritated me was this typically ''inferiority mentality '' shown by many police members in the film( like treating your subordinates badly, but to kneel in front of your superintendent, when he start scolding you) They are lacking selfrespect and seemingly being insecure to treat their subordinates like that. Anyway another critical point is the climax of the movie, it was indeed a twist, which noone could have imagined but was like i said again totally unrealistic( its not possible to act like this without making yourself suspicious) and the motive behind that revenge wasnt potrayed well. It should have been drewn out better, so it fell short. And another point was the fact, that the police showed only so much interest in finding the girl, because she is the daughter of a rich and influential upper class father, who has close connections to the police chief. So overall the story could have been better and written out more neatly. But beyond a potential interesting story it still cant hide the fact, that except some side figures, the protagonist is egoistic and unsympathic, making the viewer a hard Time to connect to him.

Choked (2020)

Decent movie

[6/10 · 6 June 2020]

The beginning of the film was really promising, the characters were introduced and you got first glimpses of the life of an middle class family in Mumbai. I didnt know beforehand ,what the movie was about at all and were really excited to watch the further story development. But after an hour i got impatient, still waiting for an interesting turn or climax. So at last i skipped many of the scenes and watched the end. And i didnt had the feeling that i missed out on something. The story drags too much, and maybe it was only hard to follow for me because as a foreigner i didnt understand the setting of the story and this whole money demonitization. Anyway the camera technique were on point and the actors perfomances outstanding, especially from the both main protagonists. My personal highlight was the few tamil words sutesh were speaking, it was funny how he switched to it when he was agitated or angry during a conversation in hindi. The music was really nice too and fitted perfectly. And the bashes against a certain politican was also nice to watch, making the film highly political, which in todays time is really needed. But all this can not outweigh the weak and confusing plot development.

Trikal (Past, Present, Future) (1985)

Fascinating

[8/10 · 1 June 2020]

Iam currently on a shyam benegal movie trip, trying to watch his most important works. And i were not disappointed. Trikal is a most delightful movie dealing with dysfunctional family structures in the backdrop of indias newly gained independence. Goa( a former portugese colony) is facing changes, as its going to be freed from its colonizers. In the centre of the story stands the matriarch of a wealthy influential Goan Family, who after the death of her husband,has now to decide about the fate of her family. The music, the atmosphere, even the clothes were fascinating and unique, giving a hint about the rich and interesting Goan (in this case upper class) culture, who was heavily influenced by its long period of colonization. Although the story displays mostly the happenings surrounding Family members and friends, it doesnt fail to give insight into the History and political ongoings. Interesting was also the nearly satirical way, in which shyam benegal showcased the privileged and influential family. But sometimes the story was really slow and kind of predictable. But this is only a minor aspect in this thoroughly amazing Film.

Never Have I Ever (2020–2023)

A nice serial

[7/10 · 29 April 2020]

So i was really excited to watch this serial cause its the first Time in History, that a tamil girl starres in the main role of a serial. And i wasnt disappointed, she does it really well, and also the casting of the other roles were really done well, with characters showing a huge diversity and not being stereotyping. Its refreshing, paving way for a new generation of serials, which represents minorities more realistically. Still the first few episodes were kind of boring and predictable, with the typically indian girl, which is ashamed of her heritage and tries everything to be more ,, cool''. But this changes after the fifth episode, in which more serious and relatable topics are introduced, and also the characters got more complex. So its a nice watch, with a typically superficial american humour( which i dont like that much, but here its ok) and topics which are not new, but presented in a new culturally ,,indianfied'' way. Its not good like ,,sex education'', cause it lacks unfortunately of depth and character development, but its alright for teenies and young adults. I wished i had the possibility to watch this kind of serials, when i was a teen, it would have been nice to see more people, who looks like me.